Bulletin


ILLINOIS NATURAL HISTORY SURVEY
JjUHCTVH Printed by Authority (

the State of Illinois

>«i£jt*.i»'

The Fishes of

Champaign County, Illinois,

as Affected by 60 Years

of Stream Changes

R. WELDON LARIMORE
PHILIP W. SMITH

STATE OF ILLINOIS
DEPARTMENT OF REGISTRATION AND EDUCATION
NATURAL HISTORY SURVEY DIVISION
Urbana, Illinois





ILLINOIS NATURAL HISTORY SURVEY

Bulletin

Volume 28, Article 2
Printed by Authority of

March, 1963 the state of Illinois

The Fishes of

Champaign County, Illinois,

as Affected by 60 Years

of Stream Changes

R. WELDON LARIMORE
PHILIP W. SMITH

STATE OF ILLINOIS
DEPARTMENT OF REGISTRATION AND EDUCATION
NATURAL HISTORY SURVEY DIVISION
Urbana, Illinois



CONTENTS

Acknowledgments 299

Methods and Equipment -^00

Forbes & Richardson Procedure 300

Thompson & Hunt Procedure 300

1959 Survey Procedure 301

Selection of Site 302

Sampling Technique 302

Preservation and Sorting of Collections 304

Habitat Data Recorded at Site 304

Tabulations 304

Supplemental Distribution Records 304

Sources of Additional Information 306

Description of County 306

Soils 306

Weather 307

Agricultural Practices 307

Population, Urban, and Industrial Developments 308

Stream Drainages and Courses 308

VV^ater Discharge 308

Draining and Dredging 310

Stream Habitats 311

General Ecological Characteristics 311

Habitat Types 313

Rivulets and Small Creeks 314

Large Creeks 315

Small Rivers 315

Other Aquatic Habitats 317

Changes in Stream Habitats 317

Annotated List of Fishes 320

Amiidae 321

Lepisosteidae 321

Hiodontidae 3-1

Clupeidae 3-1

Esocidae 32

1

Catostomidae 321

Cyprinidae 32_

Ictaluridae 324

Anguillidae 3-5

Cyprinodontidae 325

Poeciliidae 325

Atherinidae 3-5

Aphredoderidae 3-5

Serranidae 325

Centrarchidae 323

Percidae 326

Sciaenidae 327

Analysis of Distribution Patterns 327

Changes in Distribution 328

Forbes & Richardson Records 328

Thompson & H unt Records 329

Investigations Between 1929 and 1959 330

Recent Survey Records 330

Summary of Changes Over 60-Year Period 331



Ecological Associations 335

Species Associated With Various Stream Habitats 335

Species of Rivulets and Small Creeks 335

Species of Large Creeks 335

Species of Small Rivers 336

Species Associated With Various Ecological Factors 336

Species Associated With Other Species 337

Notropis dorsalts—Ericymba buccata 337

Notropis chrysocephalus—Erimyzon oblongus 338

Catostomus commersoni—Phenacobiiis mirabilis 338

Miscellaneous Associations 338

Gfneral Abundance and Occurrence 339

Average Number of Species Per Station 339

Average Number of Fish Per 100 Square Yards 340

Average Weight of Fish Per 100 Square Yards 340

Distribution and Stream Size 340

Relationships With Stream Size 340

Number of Species and Stream Size 341

Number of Fish and Stream Size 342

Fish Weight and Stream Size 342

Frequency Distribution and Stream Size 342

Conclusions on Relationships 346

Distribution and Pollution 346

Areas of Chronic Pollution 348

The Boneyard 348

West Branch 349

East Branch 352

Lower Salt Fork 352

Copper Slough, Phinney Branch 352

Upper Sangamon 352

Upper Kaskaskia 353

Chemistry of Polluted Waters 353

Fish Anomalies Caused by Pollution 353

Fish Kills 353

Ingression Into Polluted Waters 354

Specific Tolerance to Pollution 354

Distribution and Water Enrichment 355

Natural Soil Fertility 355

Fertilizers on the Watershed 355

Domestic Sewage 355

Fisheries 356

Sport Fishing 356

Commercialized Sport Fishing 357

Bait Collectirg 357

Summary 357

Literature Cited 360

Species Distribution Maps 361

Index 376

This paper is a joint contribution from t^vo sections of the Illinois Natural History Survey:
the Section of Aquatic Biology, represented by Dr. R. fVeldon Larimore, Aquatic Biologist, and
the Section of Faunistic Surveys and Insect Identification, represented by Dr. Philip H' . Smith,

Associate Taxonomist.

Printed by authority of the State of Illinois, IRS Ch. 127, Par. 5SA2.

(65400—7M—12-621 ,„^^^z



o

E-a



The Fishes of Champaign County, Illinois,

as Affected by 60 Years of Stream Changes

R. WELDON LARIMORE
PHILIP W. SMITH

The fishes of Champaign County^
Illinois, have received probably as inten-

sive and prolonged study as those in any
area of equal size in the Nev\^ World.
The long period of observation has fur-

nished an unusual opportunity to evalu-

ate the ecological changes that have oc-

curred in a highly developed agricultural

and urban region and to relate these

changes to the distribution and abundance
of stream fishes.

In 1899 and several years before and
after, Stephen A. Forbes and Robert E.

Richardson made 48 collections of fishes in

Champaign County while gathering ma-
terial for their study The Fishes of Illi-

nois (Forbes & Richardson 1908). Their
collections included approximately 65 spe-

cies. In 1928 and 1929, David H. Thomp-
son and Francis D. Hunt made 132
Champaign County collections that in-

cluded approximately 75 species (Thomp-
son & Hunt 1930). The exact number
of species in these early studies is uncer-

tain because some of the reported species

were composites of two or more currently

recognized species. Thompson & Hunt's
study was aimed at discerning distribu-

tional changes in fish. The use of stan-

dardized sampling methods and a sys-

tematic approach to making collections

enabled them to express results quantita-

tively (to include numbers and weights of

fish) as well as qualitatively (to include

only names of species) and permitted

I

them to make a number of important gen-

jeralizations regarding the distribution and
^abundance of hshes in small streams.

A period of about 30 years elapsed be-

tween the study by Forbes & Richardson

and that by Thompson & Hunt. As a sec-

ond 30-year period drew to a close, a

unique opportunity to collect data that

could be compared with those of Forbes &
Richardson and Thompson & Hunt, and

to test some of the concepts outlined by

OjThompson & Hunt, could not be ignored.

riAccordingly, we undertook a third survey

^1

in the summer of 1959 and the spring of

1960. Our investigation was similar to

that of Thompson & Hunt, except that, in

order to obtain more standardized data,

we utilized techniques and refinements un-
known in 1928 and 1929. The present

paper is the result of the third survey.

Throughout this study, emphasis has

been placed on changes—changes in the

county resulting from agricultural devel-

opment and population increase, changes

in the streams resulting from natural and
human modifications, changes in aquatic

habitats resulting from new developments

in land use practices, and changes in the

fishes as these adaptable animals adjusted

to new conditions in their naturally un-

stable aquatic environment.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We gratefully acknowledge the assist-

ance of three former employees of the Illi-

nois Natural History Survey, David J.

McGinty, Richard E. Bass, and David W.
Bridges, and regret that we cannot share

authorship with them. All of them were
active in the investigation during the en-

tire field program and through much of

the data analysis. Throughout the sum-

mer of 1959, they returned to the labora-

tory each evening and helped sort, count,

and measure collections, frequently of

such size that sorting continued until mid-

night. With equal willingness, they

shared, or carried on in our absence, other

phases of the study ranging from hard

physical labor to tabulation of data. Their

contribution is sincerely appreciated.

For kindly answering our questions

concerning the 1928 survey and giving his

opinion on some of the recent collections,

we particularly thank Dr. David H.
Thompson. For graciously transcribing

his records and field notes on angling in

Champaign County, we are grateful to

Dr. Marcus S. Goldman.
Dr. Milton B. Trautman and Dr.

Reeve M. Bailey checked the identifica-

[299]



300 li.i.iNois Natural History Survey Bum.etin Vol. 28. Art. 2

tion of some of the difficult specimens.

Dr. Horace VV. Norton and Mr. Bud J.

Meador gave counsel and guidance in an-

ah'zing our data. Dr. Thurston E. Lar-

son, Dr. Russell T. Odell, Dr. Robert A.
Evers, and Air. W. J. Roberts offered de-

tailed information relating to their par-

ticular specialties.

The photographs were taken by Mr.
William E. Clark and Mr. Wilmer D.
Zehr; Hg. 6 was drafted by Mrs. Alice

Ann Prickett; much of the drafting of

the distribution on maps was done by Mr.
Ralph G. Downer.
We owe a special debt to Dr. George

W. Bennett for suggestions and encour-

agement throughout the investigation and

to Dr. Bennett and Dr. H. H. Ross for

critical perusal of our early manuscript.

We are indebted to Mr. James S, A)'ars

for his editing of the final manuscript.

The Illinois State Department of Con-
servation co-operated in this study by sup-

porting part of the field work and labora-

tory analyses.

METHODS AND EQUIPMENT
Methods and equipment employed in

sampling stream fish populations should be

selected on the basis of the demands and
objectives of the study and the amount of

time and effort that can be expended in

making the collections. During each of

the surveys of the fishes of Champaign
County, the procedure was to visit well-

distributed sites, selected to yield a com-
prehensive picture of the fishes of the

streams. Seines were used as standard

equipment in the first two investigations;

during the third survey both seines and
electrofishing equipment were employed.

The total time spent procuring collections

may have doubled with each succeeding

survey. These changes in procedure and
intensity of collecting present difficulties

in comparing results of the three surveys.

In drawing conclusions, we have care-

fully weighed the difficulties inherent in a

study extending over more than half a

century.

Forbes & Richardson Procedure
Forbes & Richardson (1908) made

their collections by seining, presumably

with seines of various mesh sizes, at se-

lected sites throughout the county. As far

as we know, these early investigators made
no attempt to do a uniform amount of

seining at each station or to determine the

relative abundance of the various species

found. The number of revisits, if any,

that they made to their stations cannot be

ascertained. According to Thompson &
Hunt ( 1930: 16), the collections of Forbes
is: Richardson spanned a 20-year period

:

1 in 1882, 3 in 1885, 1 in 1892, 2 in 1898,

22 in 1899, 3 in 1900, and 8 in 1901, giv-

ing a total of 40 collections from 40 sta-

tions. Apparently these counts were made
from the old accession catalogs and the

atlas of maps that accompanied Forbes &
Richardson's The Fishes of Illinois. They
do not agree with our calculations. Our
count of localities plotted by Forbes

(1907) and by Forbes & Richardson

(1908) and of localities represented by

specimens still extant at the Natural His-

tory Survey from early collections raises

the number of Champaign County locali-

ties sampled by Forbes & Richardson to

48, distributed by drainages as follows:

Salt Fork 27, Sangamon 10, Kaskaskia 5,

Embarrass 3, and Middle Fork 3.

Thompson & Hunt Procedure
Thompson & Hunt (1930:14-7) em-

ployed seines of certain lengths and mesh
sizes. They recorded the actual number
of fish taken at each collecting station and

the calculated number per 100 square

yards of area seined. In the words of

Thompson & Hunt (1930:5), "the gen-

eral methods employed in the former sur-

vey have been applied intensively to a

small area, Champaign County, and use

has been made of special methods which

yield results more strictly quantitative."

Records show that 126 stations were sam-

pled in 1928 and that a few stations were

revisited in the spring of 1929. Of the

total number of collections, 132, Thomp-
son & Hunt (1930:14-7) made 127 with

a seine, 10 feet by 4 feet, having meshes

one-sixth inch square and 5 with a seine,

75 feet by 6 feet, having meshes 1 inch

square. Their 126 stations were distrib-

uted by drainages as follows: Salt Fork

48, Sangamon 31, Embarrass 19, Kaskas-

kia 15, Middle Fork 9, and Little Ver-

milion 4. Thompson & Hunt emphasized,

and demonstrated with amazing success,

the importance of skill and efficiency in



March, 1963 Larimore <& Smith: Fishes of Champaign County 301

sampling with seines. The distribution of

the Forbes & Richardson and the Thomp-
son & Hunt collecting stations is depicted

in rig. 1.

1959 Survey Procedure
The intention, when our survey was be-

ing planned, was to duplicate the seining

procedures employed by Thompson &
Hunt and in addition to extend the sam-
pling at each station by using more effi-

cient, recently developed methods that

would lead to quantitative samples of

greater reliability. We soon realized,

however, that it would be virtually im-

possible to duplicate their seining proce-

Fig. 1.—Distribution of the Forbes & Richardson (inverted solid triangles) and of the

Thompson & Hunt (open circles) collecting stations in Champaign County. The hatched area

near the center of the map represents Champaign-Urbana.



302 Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin Vol. 28, Art. 2

Fig. 2.—Seining a shallow, rocky riffle in the Sangamon River near Mahomet. Agitation

upstream from the seine dislodges darters, madtoms, and certain minnows from the gravel.

dures, and that even a slight change in

technique could strongly influence any

quantitative value of the sample. We
therefore chose a standard procedure of

blocking off a section of stream and col-

lecting the fishes within the section with

an electric fish shocker. In efforts to ex-

tend our list of species in the area, we then

seined various habitats close to the blocked-

off section.

Selection of Site.—Because of the

uneven distribution of fishes in a stream,

the selection of a sampling station was of

considerable importance. Inasmuch as

Thompson & Hunt had mapped the loca-

tion of each of their sites before going into

the field, and their maps, on file at the

Natural History Survey, were available

to us, we chose to revisit their stations.

However, we did not necessarily sample

at exactly the same places. Their notes

indicated that they often seined unusual

situations such as deep pools generally

found under bridges, whereas we at-

tempted to select areas judged representa-

tive of particular parts of streams. Al-

though our procedure possibly omitted

some unusual populations, it produced

samples that we believe were more nearly

representative of each drainage system.

Sampling Technique.—At each se-

lected site, a stretch of stream approxi-

mately 150 feet long was blocked off with

one-fourth-inch-mesh minnow seines. A
crew of three or four men started at the

downstream block with an electric seine

and proceeded upstream, collecting all fish

that could be seen and captured with dip

nets of three-sixteenths-inch mesh. On
reaching the upstream block, the crew

reversed direction, electrofishing back

through the sample area. When the water

was exceptionally turbid, a minnow seine

was pulled through the enclosed area to

recover stunned fish that had been over-

looked by crew members using dip nets.

Care was exercised to pick up all of the

dead and stunned fish that had drifted

into the net at the downstream block.

The electric seine used in the small

streams was 30 feet long; it had 15-inch

drop electrodes spaced at 30-inch inter-

vals. It was powered by a gasoline-driven

electric generator having a maximum ca-

pacity of 8.7 amperes of 60-cycle alternat-

ing current at 115 volts. In wider



March, 1963 Larimore & Smith: Fishes of Champaign County 303

streams, a 50-foot electric seine, powered

by an 11-ampere, 230-volt alternating cur-

rent generator, was used. The generator

was usually left near the equipment truck,

and the electric lead wires were run off a

reel having a commutator through which
power was supplied as the electrodes were
moved up and down the stream.

In the blocked-off areas, we took 77

samples, all within a short period of time

(July and August, 1959), thus keeping at

a minimum the effects that seasonal

changes in fish distribution and abundance
might have on our samples. Because for

each blocked-off area we made and kept

a record of the number of individuals of

each species in the sample and their total

weight, we refer to a sample from such an

area as a quantitative sample.

To supplement the sample taken within
each blocked-off area, we seined nearby
habitats, figs. 2 and 3. An indefinite num-
ber of hauls was made with a 20-foot by
4-foot nylon minnow seine of three-six-

teenths-inch mesh. These "cruising" sam-
ples usually added several species to the

list of fishes taken at each locality. Ma-
terial obtained outside the blocked-off

areas was not included in the quantitative

samples. Fish in the "cruising" samples
were not measured or weighed.

The reliability of our quantitative sam-
ples was not determined. We recognized

the selectivity of electrofishing in differ-

ent habitats and for different species of

fishes. For obvious practical reasons, we
could not adapt our equipment and pro-

cedure to produce the greatest efficiency

Fi<i. 3.— Seining a shallow pool in the Sangamon Ri\er near Mahdniei. Ilalntji-

type contain suckers and minnows. In 1959, collecting with a minnow seine in such

usually yielded species not collected with an electric seine in nearby blocked-off areas.

ut this

habitats



304 Illinois Natlrai. History Survey Bulletin Vol. 28. Art.

at each station, nor could \v? determine* tlic

efficiency of our electrofishintj at each sta-

tion and still complete the field work in

a 2-month period. To keep the number of

variable conditions as small as possible and

to obtain as nearly comparable samples as

was practical, we followed the same pro-

cedure at each station. In another stud\

Larimore (1961), using equipment and

procedures similar to those used in the

1959 survey, determined electrofishing suc-

cess in a stream just outside Champaign

County. Since the stream was similar to

some of the Champaign County streams

and since many of the same species w^ere

collected, his rate of success is pertinent

to evaluating our quantitative samples.

The qualitative completeness of our

quantitative samples, that is, the number

of species per station In the quantita-

tive samples compared with the number

of species per station in the quantita-

tive plus other samples (total collec-

tion per station), is shown in tables 13

and 14. Usually about 90 per cent of the

species listed at each station were taken

in the blocked-off area; the additional 10

per cent were obtained in nearby areas.

Our collections averaged 1.4 times as

many species per station as did those of

Thompson & Hunt. The dilierence is due

probably to our use of two collecting

methods and our larger samples. It prob-

ably does not reflect a change in the num-

ber of species present, nor does it imply in-

efficiency in the earlier survey, for cer-

tainly Thompson & Hunt were remarka-

bly thorough with the method that they

employed.

Further evaluations of our collecting

efficiency are given in the section General

Abundance and Occurrence.

Preservation and Sorting of Col-

lections.—Very large, easily identified

fishes were released at the site of capture

after their numbers, lengths, and weights

had been recorded. All small specimens

were immediately put into cans of 15 per

cent formalin and taken to the laboratory.

Each evening, individuals in the collection

were sorted ; then, for each species, the

numbers, total weights of various size

groups, and ranges in lengths were re-

corded on printed form cards. Only speci-

mens of unusual interest were saved for

the permanent collection. Specimens ob-

tained from habitats adjacent to th«

blocked-off areas were not included i^

quantitative computations.

Habitat Data Recorded at Site.—i

series of standard measurements and ar

evaluation of certain ecological factors

were made at each station. Water level

was recorded as high, low, or normal. At
each station, depth was measured along

transects at the middle and lower part

of the study area and in the deepest part

of the area. Where great variation in

depth occurred, additional measurements

were taken halfway between the middle

and upper limits and the middle and lower

limits of the area. Maximum, minimum,

and average widths were recorded on a

sketch of the stream section. Current was

measured by timing a float as it passed

through a 50-foot course judged repre-

sentative of the water velocity at the sta-

tion. Turbidity was measured with a U. S.

Geological Survey turbidity needle. Types

of bottom materials, such as sand, silt, and

gravel, were determined, and an estimate

was made of the relative abundance of

each type. Notes were made of debris

and vegetation in the stream, as well as

of vegetation on the bank and overhang-

ing the water.

Tabulations.—Quantitative data were

recorded on large tabular sheets similar to

those used by Thompson & Hunt. Total

number and weight for each species in a

collecting area were translated into num-

ber and weight per 100 square yards of

area. This procedure facilitated compari-

son of our results with those of Thompson
& Hunt. The volume of water at each

station was calculated and recorded, so

that the relations of fish numbers and

weights to volume could be ascertained.

Also, the measurements and ecological

evaluations discussed above were recorded

on each sheet. All of this information was

transferred to International Business Ma-
chine (IBM) punch cards; the results of

the classification and analysis of these data

were recorded on IBM work sheets, which

along with the original tabulations and

pertinent notes for both our survey and

that of Thompson & Hunt are on file at

the Natural History Survey offices.

Supplemental Distribution Rec-

ords.— In addition to making collections

at most of the stations set up by Thompson



March, 1963 Larimore & Smith: Fishes of Champaign County 305

& Hunt, we sampled 28 other localities

in the county. In sampling these stations,

we used either a 20-foot by 4-foot nylon

minnow seine of three -sixteenths -inch

mesh or a rowboat shocker (Larimore,

Durham, & Bennett 1950). The seine

sampling, aimed at filling in distributional

gaps where blocked-off sampling stations

were widely separated, was of varying in-

tensity and was designed merely to procure
a list of species from each locality. Row-
boat shocking had the same objective and,
with few exceptions, was used only when
the stream was too large to permit the ef-

fective use of minnow seines. Some sam-
pling by both methods was done on re-

Fig. 4.—Distribution of the 1959 collecting stations (solid circles) in Champaign County.
Open symbols represent collecting sites, not revisited in 1959, of the two prior surveys: inverted
triangles the Forbes & Richardson survey and circles the Thompson & Hunt survey.



306 Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin Vol. 28. Art. 2

visits to certain stations in an attempt to

obtain unusual species that had not been

taken on our initial visits, but that had

been recorded at the stations by Thompson
& Hunt. The streams sampled and the

number of collecting:; stations on each

stream, including stations for cruising and
supplemental sampling, were as follows:

Salt Fork 55, Sangamon 39, Kaskaskia 22,

Embarrass 20, Middle Fork 11, and Lit-

tle V^ermilion 5. The distribution of these

152 localities is depicted in fig. 4.

Sources of Additional In.orniation.

—Several Champaign County anglers pro-

vided reliable observations. The records

they provided were evaluated separately

from those of our own collections; their

degree of reliability is fully indicated in

the Annotated List of Fishes. Two opera-

tors of commercial fee-fishing lakes pro-

vided information that was used.

DESCRIPTION OF COUNTY
In about a century, much of Champaign

County has been converted from marsh-

land infested with deer flies to well-

drained, fertile farmland. It has been in-

tensively cultivated for several decades,

and its streams have been modified by

dredging, tiling, silting, and other in-

fluences that accompany agricultural prac-

tices. The human population has mush-
roomed in recent years, and some areas

have become industrialized, providing an

opportunity to observe the effects of sew-

age and industrial wastes on streams and

stream life.

Located in east-central Illinois, Cham-
paign County, fig. 5, is 36 miles from

north to south and 27 miles from east to

west. It occupies 988 square miles (632,-

415 acres) of flat to slightly rolling land;

the present relief resulted from relatively

recent glaciation and from postglacial

stream erosion. The altitude ranges from

630 to 860 feet above sea level and aver-

ages about 710 feet. Although essentially

a flat plain, it is somewhat higher than

surrounding counties, and four major

stream systems arise within the county.

Two other stream systems originate a

short distance north of the county limits.

The county has been glaciated twice,

but the effects of the more recent Wis-
consin stage (about 18,000 years ago) ob-

scure those of the much older lUinoian

stage. The series of end moraines, which
rise from 50 to 100 feet above the inter-

morainal basins, usually form boundaries

between drainage systems. The entire

Fig. 5.—Location of Champaign County and
its streams in relation to the state and major
drainage systems. The dotted line indicates

the boundary of a particularly fertile area, at

one time mostly prairie marsh.

county is overlaid with a mantle of Wis-
consin glacial till, which is covered with

a layer of loess of varying thicknesses up

to 8 feet, except where the loess has been

eroded away. The county contains no rock

outcrops.

Soils

The soils reflect the soil parent material,

the drainage, and the vegetational history

of the area. Dark upland prairie soils

make up about 92 per cent of the area;

yellow-gray silt loams, the upland timber

soils, make up about 5 per cent ; bottom-

land or terrace soils constitute the small

remainder (Hopkins et al. 1918:6).

A recent arrangement of the soil types

of Champaign County is presented in the



March, 1963 Larimore & Smith: Fishes of Champaign County 307

following paragraph (Fehrenbacher 1963

and personal communication from Dr.

Russell T. Odell, Professor of Soil Pedol-

ogy', University of Illinois).

The dark upland prairie soils can be

placed in four general groups. A group of

silty loess prairie soils (mainly Drummer,
Flanagan, and Catlin soil types) covers

about 40 per cent of Champaign County.
These soils are loam till covered with 3

to 5 feet of loess. Properly managed, they

are the most productive in the county,

averaging about 95 bushels of corn per acre

per year. A second group of prairie soils,

mainly Drummer, Brenton, and Proctor

soil types, consists of silty outwash soils

with greater subsurface flow and higher

permeability than the first group men-
tioned. They cover about 26 per cent of

the county and also are very productive.

This group of soils is associated with the

former marshes. A third group, made up
of medium-textured prairie soils, occurs

in rolling areas mostly along the Cham-
paign Moraine and covers about 10 per

cent of the county. A fourth group, com-
posed of fine-textured prairie soils of silty

clay loam and silty till, covers a large area

in the northeastern part of the county and
scattered areas in the northwestern part,

a total of 16 per cent of the county. This
group is somewhat less productive than the

other prairie soils. The small remaining

group, consisting of nonprairie soils, is

generally associated with the river valleys

and constitutes the least productive soils

in the county.

Weather
Champaign County has a temperate

continental-type climate without the mod-
ifying influences of a large body of water.

In most years, temperature extremes range

from well below degrees to slightly

over 100 degrees F. The annual mean
temperature is 52 degrees F. (Changnon
1959:46). Comparison of monthly aver-

age temperatures over a 57-year period

during which weather records have been

kept at Urbana reveals great fluctuation

but no significant trend. August, the

month of our most intensive collecting in

1959, was considerably warmer than the

August average.

The county receives an average of

about 36 inches of precipitation per year.

Although the annual averages for 1929-
1958 were similar to those for the

preceding 1903-1928 period, judged by
data graphically presented by Changnon
(1959:11), the 5-year period immediately
preceding Thompson & Hunt's study was
exceptionally wet, and the years 1930,

1953, 1954, and 1956 were exceptionally

dry, the annual rainfall being less than

30 inches. The years 1940 and 1959 re-

ceived subnormal amounts of precipitation

and were marked by unusually dry sum-
mers. The summer months of 1959 were
extremely dry and resulted in low water
levels during the time of our intensive

field work.

Agricultural Practices
Champaign County is one of the most

productive grain areas in the world. Dur-
ing more than a century of farming, this

county has undergone great changes in

landscape, in farming methods, and in

crops. These changes include the draining

of the wet prairies and marshes to convert

them to productive farmland, the use

of large machinery, and the widespread

use of commercial fertilizers and new and
improved plant varieties.

The farming of the first settlers in this

county was largely restricted to raising

cattle and small crops on the high areas

and along the stream courses where drain-

age was naturally good. Lands that were
dry enough for cultivation were turned

by oxen. During the last quarter of the

nineteenth century, ditches were dug and
tiles laid to drain the wet prairie fields.

By 1900, the farms averaged between 80

and 100 acres in size.

With the development of large farm
machinery^—heavy tractors, combines,

seeders, and corn pickers — many farms

were merged to form larger ones. Cur-

rently, the average Champaign County
farm is about 200 acres. Within the past

30 years a trend toward less diversifica-

tion among farm crops has appeared ; corn

and soybeans have become the two lead-

ing crops.

During the 1940's, the widespread use

of commercial fertilizers brought about a

general increase in average yield. Hybrid

plants and improved varieties added to

yields. Recently, liquid nitrogen as a fer-

tilizer has further increased production.



308 Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin Vol. 28. Art. 2

At the time of settlement of Cham-
paign County, very little soil eroded from
the prairie and timber areas, but intensive

farming made erosion a serious, constant

threat even in the nearly flat or gently

sloping lands of Champaign County. As
the native vegetation was removed and
the soil directly exposed to rain and wind,

the soil became compact and less absorbent,

causing more rapid runoff, accompanied

by the loss of rich topsoil. The inadequacy

of soil conservation practices had adverse

effects upon the streams and contributed

to more frequent floods followed by seri-

ously low water levels. The effects of soil

erosion and the need for intensive con-

servation methods are not fully appreci-

ated by many Champaign County farm-

ers. Few grainfields are farmed on the

contour, strip cropping is rare, and grass

waterways are maintained in relatively

few of the cultivated fields. Farm animals

are permitted to graze the stream banks

and thereby contribute to serious erosion

and siltation.

Population, Urban, and Industrial
Developments

During the first half of the twentieth

century, striking changes in land use in

Champaign County were brought on by

the increasing human population. In 1900,

the census reported 47,622 people residing

in the county; in 1930, 64,273; in 1960,

132,436. The trend has been toward ur-

banization; in 1900, 31.1 per cent of the

population lived in urban areas and, in

1960, 75.6 per cent. Although there are

about 26 cities and villages in the county,

only Champaign-Urbana, Rantoul, and a

few others have increased in population.

Some of the small villages in the county

have remained static in population or have

even declined. The changes in size of

urban areas is illustrated by fig. 6, which
shows the village limits of the 1870's in

red and the recent limits in black.

A considerable acreage of farmland has

been usurped by urban and surburban de-

velopment. The total number of acres in

cultivation was roughly the same between
1900 and 1928 and was considerably

greater than it is today. Since 1928,

cleared land, particularly that marginal

to cities and villages, has been pressed

into nonagricultural uses. Many areas

that were once farmed now are covered b\

modern schools, grain storage units, and
industrial developments; other large land

areas now are occupied by Chanute Air
Force Base and the campus of the Uni-
versity of Illinois. These lands are per-

manently out of production of farm crops.

The vast network of roads, including sev-

eral major highways that transect the

county, occupies a large and ever-increas-

ing area.

A highly developed road system has

made Champaign County ideally suited

for the study reported here because roads

are laid out, orderly and regularly, paral-

lel to each other at mile or half-mile in-

tervals throughout the county. All streams

could be sampled conveniently at almost

any point, and electrofishing and other

heavy collecting gear could be transported

by automobile almost to the water's edge.

Stream Drainages and Courses
The stream drainages of Champaign

County can be summarized as follows.

Six rivers have headwater channels in the

county, four of which (Salt Fork, Em-
barrass, Kaskaskia, and Little Vermilion)
actually originate within the county. All

of the drainages are separated by moraines,

except the Sangamon and Salt Fork ; dur-

ing times of flood, headwaters of the San-

gamon and Salt Fork may connect, al-

though connection occurs much less fre-

quently now than formerly. The total

drainage area (in square miles) of each of

these rivers within the county is as fol-

lows: Sangamon 277, Salt Fork 346, Mid-
dle Fork 69, Embarrass 138, Kaskaskia

168, and Little Vermilion 40. A few

smaller streams flow out of the county,

but each joins one of the six larger rivers

a short distance beyond the county border.

The relationships of the streams to the

larger rivers are shown in fig. 5.

The total drainage area (in square

miles) of the main course of each of these

rivers at the point the river leaves Cham-
paign County is as follows: Sangamon
388, Salt Fork 307, Middle Fork 241,

Embarrass 106, Kaskaskia 98, and Little

Vermilion 28. These figures include up-

per reaches of those rivers that rise out-

side the county.

Water Discharge.— Annual average

discharge records for two gaging sta-



March, 1963 Larimore & Smith: Fishes of Champaign County 309

tions near the periphery and for three
stations well within the county are avail-
able, table 1. The records show the size

of the streams at these stations and indi-

cate the amount of water drained from the
different watersheds. Calculated from fig-

ures in table 1, the annual average dis-
charge of water per acre in the period
ending in 1957 was 0.7 cubic feet per
second (c.f.s.) for the Sangamon, Salt
Fork, and West Branch; 0.6 c.f.s. for the
Kaskaskia; and 1.0 c.f.s. for the Bone-

Fig. 6.— Distribution of towns and water areas in Champaign County in the 187n's (in red)
and 19S0's (in black). Drawn from map in Atlas of the State of Illinois (Anon. 1876) and U S
Cjeological Survey Quadrangles (editions 1950-1957).



310 Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin Vol. 28. Art. 2

Table 1.—Water discharj^e records taken at five ga^in^ stations in Champaign Countv
(U. S. Geological Survey, 1953-1960).

Stream

Sangamon
Salt Fork
Kaskaskia
Boneyard _

West Branch

Location
OF

Station

Near Mahomet
Near Homer
Near Bondville
Near Urbana
Near Urbana

yard. The lowest discharge per acre was
for the Kaskaskia drainage, which is en-

tirely farmland, and the highest discharge

was for the Boneyard drainage, which is

almost entirely urban, lying within Cham-
paign-Urbana.

The records on the Sangamon River

taken near Monticello are of special value

in that they show changes in stream dis-

charge over a long period. Although the

gaging station is about 10 miles outside

Champaign County, it records the runoff

from one-quarter of the county. Records

are nearly complete back to 1908. They
show that annual average discharge fell

below 200 c.f.s. only once during the two
decades before the Thompson & Hunt
study of 1928, but fell below this level

eight times in the three decades since. The
low discharges in recent years indicate

the reduced water-holding capacity of

soils of the watershed. The river now re-

sponds quickly to precipitation or drought,

whereas it had a more nearly constant

flow before 1928.

The minimum discharge of a stream

has great significance to fish distribution.

Before the Thompson & Hunt study,

there was no record of the Sangamon
River discharge dropping as low as 1.0

c.f.s. but it reached 1.0 c.f.s. or lower five

times in the three following decades. As
might be expected, there is a high correla-

tion between precipitation and water dis-

charge of streams in an area. There is, of

course, a variable time lag between pre-

cipitation and discharge.

Draining and Dredging.— Because
of the original marshy character of Cham-
paign County, much draining, dredging,

and straightening of waterways has been

necessary to prepare the land for agri-

culture.

Watershed,
Square
Miles

356.0

344.0

12.3

4.6

71.4

Annual
Average
Dlscharge

(c.f.s.)

249.00

243.00

8.05

4.62

50.40

Years
OF

Records

1948-1957
1944-1957
1949-1957
1948-1957

1936-1957

The Illinois Farm Drainage Act of

1879 encouraged the formation of drain-

age districts and enabled farmers to par-

ticipate in the installation of drainage

systems to serve large areas. Drainage

proceeded rapidly during the following

two decades, and, by the turn of the cen-

tury, when Forbes & Richardson made
the first extensive fish collections in the

area, 36 per cent of the county's 632,415

acres had drainage improveir.ents, table 2.

The number of acres in drainage dis-

tricts almost doubled between 1900 and

1910, with 190,205 additional acres (30

per cent of the county) receiving drain-

age improvements. In the decades since

1910, the amount of new land drained

has declined, table 2. The acreage of land

placed in drainage districts in the three

decades between 1930 and 1960 amounted

Table 2.—Acres of land in Champaign
County placed in drainage districts during each

period since about 1880 and the per cent of

the county (632,415 total acres) with drainage

improvements by the end of each decade. In-

formation from the Federal Land Bank of St.

Louis and Champaign County records.

Period



March, 1963 Larimore & Smith: Fishes of Champaign County 311

to onl,v 8 per cent of the area of the

county.

When Thompson Sc Hunt made their

collections in 1928, 74 per cent of the

county was in drainage districts. By 1959,

82 per cent of the county (520,100 acres)

had received drainage improvements. Of
the 18 per cent of the county remaining,

probably a considerable proportion has

adequate natural drainage or is in non-

agricultural use. Future drainage probably

will consist mostly of maintenance and
improvement of existing systems.

Dredging to increase the water-carrying

capacity of existing streams, or to create

ditches in the undrained marshy areas

where none existed, eliminated areas of

standing water and created new channels.

Recanalization of natural streams re-

sulted in much straightening, in the erec-

tion of high earthen banks along the sides,

in producing greater uniformity of the

stream environments, and in drastically

altering local habitats, fig. 11.

Subsurface drain tiles reduced areas of

standing water and in some places resulted

in burying what had been surface drain-

age courses. As a result, many small, in-

termittent streams have been replaced by

field tiles or by wide, carefully graded

grass waterways.
Draining and dredging, which have re-

duced the water storage capacity of the

watershed, have contributed to higher

flood levels and lower drought levels in

the streams. These practices have lowered

the water table and affected the perma-

nency of many small streams. Since the

early 1870's, work has been directed to-

ward improving the drainage in Cham-
paign County; in the future this objective

may need considerable modification as de-

mands for water supplies increase and ef-

forts are made to hold water to meet
these demands.

Some stream courses have been altered.

Slight changes in drainage boundaries can

be seen on the upper reaches of Hayes
Creek, Copper Slough, Camp Creek, the

Salt Fork above Rantoul, and the head-

waters of the Little Vermilion system.

Two stations where Thompson & Hunt
seined, one in a small tributary of the

East Branch of the Salt Fork about 3

miles southeast of Rantoul, and one in a

tributary of Hayes Creek on the Cham-

paign-Douglas county line, were no longer
extant in 1959. They had been replaced

by grass waterways. Near St. Joseph, the

Salt Fork had been straightened, leaving

a large oxbow at the west edge of town.
Numerous small streams visited in 1928
by Thompson & Hunt were completely
dry in the summer of 1959, due probably
to the dry summer rather than to modi-
fications by man or to long-term natural

changes.

Some stream changes, including new
channels and new meanders, were nat-

ural. Such changes as occurred in the

county between the mid-1 870's (shown
in red) and the mid-1950's (shown in

black) can be detected in fig 6.

STREAM HABITATS
Most Champaign County streams origi-

nate at drain tiles, fig. 7, on the slopes of

moraines, or in flat, marshy areas. They
flow through straight, usually man-made
ditches in rich farmland and move on
into less disturbed channels as they be-

come larger and their valleys widen. Cer-

tain general ecological characteristics are

common to these streams and can be used

to distinguish and describe several stream

habitats.

General Ecological Characteristics

In Champaign County, the relatively

flat topography, the lack of rock outcrops,

the similarity of soil materials, and the

intensive land-use practices produce an

unusual amount of uniformity in the

stream environment.

The stream gradient is generally low,

usually between 3 and 4 feet of fall per

mile. Only on the slopes of moraines and

in a few short stretches does it exceed 6

feet per mile. The flow is generally mod-
erate to sluggish during normal water

stages. Riffles are gentle and pools are

rather shallow. There are long stretches

of very uniform depth and flow.

Water levels fluctuate rapidly and dras-

tically. Flooding occurs with some reg-

ularity, particularly during the spring and

early summer. At normal water stages,

streams have levels well within their

steep-sided banks. During flood stages, the

water levels may rise 10 to 15 feet and

temporarily become torrents that erode

away stream banks. Within the county,



312 Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin Vol. 28, Art. 2

the San}j;anion, Salt F'ork, Middle Fork,

and to a lesser degree the Embarrass rivers

have narrow floodplains, which may be

completely inundated during floods. Se-

\cre dr\ periods occur nearly every year,

usual 1\- during August and September.

I'he flow ma\' decrease drastically or even

cease. The small headwater tributaries

suffer most regularly and severely from

dry weather conditions.

Water temperatures in small, shallow,

stagnant pools may approach 100 degrees

F. during the summer and 32 degrees in

the winter. There are no large springs to

moderate water temperatures. The lack

of shading bank vegetation along shallow

areas allows extreme daily fluctuations of

temperature, which, in summer, may
change as much as 20 degrees F. between

the cool morning hours and the hot mid-

afternoon. In winter, temperatures may
drop sufficiently to freeze the water to

the stream bottom in shallow areas. Be-

cause fish generally concentrate in deep

pools, they are seldom caught in the ice.

The distribution of bottom materials,

formed from the basic glacial till, is di-

rectly related to the velocity of the water.

Through selective sorting of the basic ma-
terials, rubble and gravel (the heaviest

materials) pile up in riffle areas, sand in

areas of moderate current, and the finer

particles of silt and clay drop out only in

the quiet waters of the deep pools.

Turbidity is generally high, becoming
low only during the cold months, when
the activity of fish is reduced so much
that it does not roil silt on the bottom

and when streams are said to be "winter

clear." During the field work for the

present study, turbidity ranged between

15 and 150 parts per million (p.p.m.).

The chemistry of stream water, bas-

ically related to the mineral composition

of the watershed, may be strongly in-

fluenced by domestic and industrial pol-

lution, table 3. Water in the lower Em-
barrass, Kaskaskia, Spoon, and Sangamon
rivers, which are relatively unpolluted, is

low in ammonium, phosphate, and nitrate,

in comparison with water from the pol-

luted areas in the Salt Fork River. Hard-
ness (as calcium carbonate content) ranges

from 264 to 436 p.p.m. The pH is slightly

I

Table 3.—Partial chemical analysis of water collected from seven stream locations in

Champaign County on December 29, 1960. The streams were mostly ice covered and at normal

water level. Temperatures of samples ranged from 32 to 34 degrees F. The water had no

measurable color or odor. Turbidity was less than 24 p.p.m. Analysis was made by the Illinois

Water Survey. All figures are for p.p.m.

Station



March, 1963 Larimore & Smith: Fishes of Champaign County 313

above neutral, most of the readings rang-

ing from 7.2 to 7.8. The amount of dis-

solved oxygen varies from supersaturation

in well-aerated riffle areas to less than 1

p.p.m. in highly polluted waters and in

stagnant pools when the stream flow is

discontinuous.

Much of the natural aquatic vegetation

in Champaign County streams may have

been eliminated early in this century

through dredging, pollution, and other

man-induced alterations. The remaining

vegetation is limited in distribution by

the generally high turbidity of the streams.

Baker (1922) illustrated many of the

stream habitats along the Salt Fork as

they appeared in 1919 and 1920. Except

for a large patch (which no longer

exists) of yellow water lillies, Nuphar
advena, northeast of Sidney, the vegeta-

tion seen in his photographs is similar to

that found at present. Moreover, his de-

scription of the aquatic vegetation in-

cludes essentially the same species that

now occur in the area.

Thompson & Hunt listed the common
coarse aquatic plants that they observed.

Their list includes most of the present

vegetation. They listed four species of

Potamogeton that we did not find as-

sociated with the flowing waters of the

county; however, we observed another spe-

cies of Potamogeton, believed to be P.

foliosus Rafinesque, in a number of

streams and found it to be quite common
in the upper reaches of Lone Tree Creek

near Foosland. The field notes of Thomp-
son & Hunt and our observations indicate

that aquatic vegetation was more exten-

sive in 1928 than it is today.

Dr. Robert A. Evers, of the Section of

Applied Botany and Plant Pathology of

the Natural History Survey, examined

plants in several collections we made dur-

ing the present study. His identifications

add the following species to the list pre-

sented by Thompson & Hunt:
Eqiiisetum arvense Linnaeus

Spartina pectinata Link
Carex cristatella Britton

Salix interior Rowlee
Runiex altissimus Wood
Rorippa islandica (Oeder) Borbas

Lysimachia fium miliaria Linnaeus

Asclepias incarjwta Linnaeus

Phyla lanceolata (Michaux) Greene

Lycopus americanus Muhlenberg
Eupatorium perfoliatum Linnaeus
Hibiscus militaris Cavanilles

These plants are not true aquatics but

are characteristically associated with the

banks and mud flats along most of the

streams. A few true aquatics deserve spe-

cial comment. Potamogeton foUosus has

already been mentioned as quite common
in part of Lone Tree Creek. Elodea
canadensis Michaux occurs in large

patches in the polluted West Branch be-

tween Urbana and St. Joseph. Dianthera
americana Linnaeus is abundant on the

riffles and along the shores of many
streams, especially in the Middle Fork.

Chara sp. was taken near a seepage spot

on a tributary of the Spoon River near

Flatville.

The vegetation we observed in our

study included grasses, sedges, ragweeds,

milkweeds, docks, and several composites

along the small streams as they passed

through flat and open farmlands. In some

of the reaches of these streams, willows

and scrubby growths of a few other de-

ciduous trees overhung the water. Tall de-

ciduous trees lined the banks of most of

the large streams. Especially common were
silver maple, American elm, cottonwood,

sycamore, and willows. In open areas,

where the sunshine reached the water,

grew buttonbush, rose mallow, water wil-

low, and a few other plants.

Habitat Types
Although the general ecological char-

acteristics of the streams of Champaign
County are rather uniform, each stream

contains several distinct habitats. The
habitats are determined largely by stream

size, stream topography and gradient, soil

materials comprising the bottom, and hu-

man modification of the stream and its

drainage basin.

Thompson & Hunt (1930:3-^-9) clas-

sified stream habitats according to size of

area drained, permanency, depth, width,

current, type of substrate, amount of veg-

etation and debris, turbidity, and faunal

composition. They recognized vernal rivu-

lets ; kettle holes at mouths of tile drains;

oxbow ponds along small streams; per-

manent headwater streams; stretches of

shallow, sluggish water; gravelly and

sandv riffles and stretches; rocky rapids



314 Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin Vol. 28, Art.

Table 4,—Champaign County stream habitats, the extent of their occurrence, and thei^

physical characteristics.



March, 1963 Larimore & Smith: Fishes of Champaign County 315

nel. They consist of a long open ditch,

flowing smoothly over a substrate of clay,

silt, or loam. They lack aquatic vegeta-

tion but are bordered by grasses, herbs,

and shrubs. Although they include oc-

casional water pockets that could be

termed pools, and occasional shallow areas

where there is an accumulation of sand

and gravel suggesting rifHes, their distri-

bution of fishes is relatively uniform

throughout. These long open ditches may
partially dry up if water flow ceases dur-

ing the summer months. Their small size,

instability of flow, and lack of shade pro-

duce a highly unstable aquatic environ-

ment.

Large Greeks.—The streams we
classify as large creeks are formed by the

confluence of the rivulets and small creeks.

The water contributed by the network of

tributaries is of such volume that flow is

continuous throughout most years, al-

though the actual volume may fluctuate

drastically from wet to dry seasons.

Typically, the large creeks consist of al-

ternating pools, shallow stretches, and rif-

fles (frontispiece). They contain a greater

variety of habitats than do rivulets and
small creeks. The frequency of occurrence
of riffles depends upon the distribution of

glacial drift materials, the extent of

dredging, and the stream gradient. Some
of the large creeks in Champaign County
have been dredged ; they now have straight

rather than meandering courses, a mo-
notonous sameness of environment, and
nearly uniform depth, fig. 8.

In the large creeks, riffles over sand
and fine gravel are usually without aquat-

ic vegetation ; those over gravel and small

boulders have some attached algae. Some
pools are shallow and have a moderate
flow over clay, sand, and silt; they have

a variety of aquatic vegetation. Other
pools are quiet and deep, having been

formed by obstructions or unusual erosion

of the bottom materials ; they have ac-

cumulations of silt and only marginal veg-

etation. Long, shallow pools make up
large proportions of most of the Cham-
paign County streams we have classified as

large creeks, fig. 11.

Small Rivers.—The largest streams

in the county, hardly larger than creeks

Fig. 8.—The Kaskaskia River southwest of Parkville. This stream, dredged from time to

time, illustrates one of the large creek habitats found in Champaign County. Modification of

this creek resulted in an unusual amount of sand in the stream bed.



316 Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin Vol. 28, Art. 2

Fig. 9.—Upper picture: a shallow pool in the Sangamon River near Fisher. Habitats such

as this contain several species of suckers, basses, and sunfishes, and many species of small fishes.

Lower picture: a deep pool in the Salt Fork near Homer. Habitats such as this contain carp,

catfish, shad, and relatively few species of small fishes.



March, 1963 Larimore & Smith: Fishes of Champaign County 317

by some standards, we have classed as

small rivers, figs. 2 and 3. They include

the lower Sangamon, the lower Salt Fork,

and the Middle Fork. They are perma-

nent streams that have less extreme and

less sudden fluctuations in water level

and temperature than creeks. Their flood-

plains and banks are generally shaded by

large trees, fig. 9. Like large creeks, the

small rivers contain both riffle and pool

habitats, table 4.

Riffles of sinall rivers differ from those

of creeks in their greater volume of flow

and their greater proportion of large-

sized bottom materials. Because of the low
gradient of the small rivers, the riffles in

these streams are relatively fewer in num-
ber and occupy a smaller proportion of the

total water area than do those in creeks.

Sand and fine gravel riffles with little

aquatic vegetation occur in small rivers as

well as creeks ; because sand and fine

gravel occur also in many boulder and
rubble riffles that have some aquatic veg-

etation, the two types of riffles are less

clearly defined in rivers than in creeks.

Pools in small rivers are either shallow

and have moderate water flow, or deep

and have sluggish current, fig. 9. Their
characteristics are similar to those of large

creeks, but the pools are deeper and have

more overhanging vegetation and greater

silt deposits. In certain parts of the lower

Salt Fork and lower Sangamon, occasional

pools are quite deep and have very slug-

gish water movements.
Other Aquatic Habitats. — Other

Champaign County aquatic habitats that

do not fit into the above classification are

nonstream habitats, such as farm ponds,

artificial lakes, and oxbows. No natural

lakes and no permanent swamps and
marshes remain in the county. Ponds and
artificial lakes are of little interest in the

present study inasmuch as they have been

stocked, and they are of concern only if

the fishes they contain spill over into the

streams. Oxbows have characteristic la-

custrine populations. The component spe-

cies obviously were derived from the

streams with which the oxbows were once

associated.

Changes in Stream Habitats
The environment of a stream is sensi-

tive to almost any activity within the

watershed. It is influenced by the human
population, agriculture, and industry as

outlined previously in this paper.

For the 30-year period between the

studies of Forbes & Richardson and those

of Thompson & Hunt, specific measure-
ments or observations of the stream en-

vironment were limited to some studies

of stream-flow measurements and drain-

ing activities. From these studies and the

information on the general development
of the county, we know that many water
habitats were actually eliminated and that

draining and dredging resulted in in-

creased fluctuation of water levels, in-

creased turbidity, and a reduction in aquat-

ic vegetation. We know that channel

straightening, with the elimination of

meanders, actually shortened stream
courses in many areas and consequently

increased the stream gradient. The re-

placement of stagnant-water marshes by

underground drains that discharge waters
that are relatively cool in summer and
warm in winter may have reduced seasonal

fluctuations of stream temperatures.

Between the investigations of Thomp-
son & Hunt in 1928 and the present time,

we have specific information on certain

changes that have occurred. Thompson &
Hunt's original field notes provide an un-

usual opportunity for evaluating various

changes in habitats at identical, or nearly

identical, collecting sites, figs. 10 and 11.

Habitat differences can be seen at specific

sites described by Thompson & Hunt and
then examined 30 years later during the

1959 investigation. These differences have

been evaluated and summarized in table 5.

The principal changes noted have to do

with dimensions, particularly in average

depth and average width of the pools

where collections were made. The field

work of the 1928 survey was carried

on "from early spring to late autumn"
(Thompson & Hunt 1930:14); most of

our collections were concentrated in the

dry months of late summer. The entire

summer of 1959 was considerably drier

than that of 1928. Despite differences in

the time of field work and in the amount
of precipitation in 1928 and 1959, the

two censuses disclosed that measurable

changes had taken place in the Champaign
County drainage systems in the years be-

tween the censuses, table 5.



318 Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin Vol. 28, Art. 21

Fig. 10.—The Sangamon River near Mahomet in the autumn of 1928 (above) and the au-

tumn of 1962 (below). The habitats at this site have remained relatively unchanged.



March, 1963 Larimore & Smith: Fishes of Champaign County 319

Fig. ll._The Kaskaskia River near Bondville in the autumn of 1928 (above), some years
after it had been dredged, and in the autumn of 1962 (below), after another dredging. Here the
K-askaskia is classed as a large creek.



320 Ii.i.iNois Natural History Survey Bui.i.etin Vol. 28. Art. 2

4.1



March, 1963 Larimore & Smith: Fishes of Champaign County 321

The fishes have an unusually complex
synonj'mv'. Accordingly, in the following

list, the name applied to a Champaign
County species by earlier authors is given

in every case where the current name dif-

fers from that in the literature. In several

cases, the "species" of earlier investigators

were composites of two or more species

as now recognized. Because of these com-
posite species, most of the existing speci-

mens in the Thompson & Hunt collec-

tions and a few in the Forbes & Richard-

son collections have been re-examined and
reidentified.

A summary of collections for all three

surveys is given. FR refers to Forbes &
Richardson, TH to Thompson & Hunt,
and LS to Larimore & Smith. The num-
ber following the initials designates the

number of localities represented ; the term

"all drainages" following a number indi-

cates that all drainage systems of Cham-
paign County were represented. A " ?"

following FR or TH indicates some doubt

as to whether the species involved was in-

cluded in the nominal species of Forbes &
Richardson (1908) or Thompson &: Hunt
(1930). Names of drainages from which
species were collected are given in paren-

theses.

Aniiidae
Amia calva Linnaeus. Bowfin.—Several

large adults taken by rowboat shocker

from Kaufman's Clear Lake, where they

had been introduced for sport fishing. LS
1 (Kaskaskia).

Lepisosteidae
Lepisosteus osseus (Linnaeus). Long-

nose gar.—A large adult taken by row-

boat shocker in the Middle Fork where
it leaves the county. The species was prob-

ably missed by earlier investigators be-

cause of its rarity in the county. LS 1

(Middle Fork).

Hiodontidae
Hiodon alosoides (Rafinesque) . Gold-

eye.—One specimen known from Cham-
paign County. This specimen, taken on

the Kaskaskia River at the lowermost

I

station in the county and reported as Hio-
don tergisus by Thompson & Hunt, is still

extant and is reidentified as H. alosoides.

TH 1 (Kaskaskia).

Clupeidae
Dorosoma cepedianutn (Le Sueur).

Gizzard shad.—FR 3 (Kaskaskia), TH
2 (Sangamon), LS 12 (Embarrass, Salt

Fork, Sangamon).

Esocidae
Esox americanus verniiculatus Le Sueur.

Grass pickerel.—Reported as Esox ver-

miculatus by Forbes & Richardson,

Thompson & Hunt, and other earlv au-

thors. FR 10 (Kaskaskia, Salt Fork. Mid-
dle Fork, Sangamon), TH 26 (Kaskaskia,

Embarrass, Little Vermilion, Salt Fork,

Sangamon), LS 17 (all drainages).

Gatostomidae
Carpiodes cyprinus hinei Trautman.

Central quillback carpsucker.—Reported

as Carpiodes velifer by Forbes & Richard-

son, Thompson & Hunt, and other early

authors. FR 10 (Salt Fork, Middle Fork,

Sangamon), TH 9 (Middle Fork, San-

gamon), LS 27 (Salt Fork, Middle Fork,

Sangamon).
Carpiodes velifer (Rafinesque) . High-

fin carpsucker.—Reported as Carpiodes

dijformis by Forbes & Richardson,

Thompson & Hunt, and other earlv au-

thors. FR 8 (Kaskaskia, Salt Fork, Mid-
dle Fork, Sangamon), TH 4 (Middle
Fork, Sangamon), LS 9 (Salt Fork, Mid-
dle Fork, Sangamon).

Catostomus commersoni commersoni
(Lacepede). White sucker.—FR 14 (Salt

Fork, Middle Fork, Sangamon), TH 63

(not 65 as stated: all drainages), LS 76

(all drainages except Little Vermilion).

Erimyzon oblongus claviformis (Gi-

rard). Western creek chubsucker.—Re-

ported as Erimyzon sucetta oblongus, a

composite of E. sucetta and E. oblongus,

by Forbes & Richardson, Thompson &
Hunt, and other early authors. There is

no evidence that E. sucetta ever occurred

within the county, although it is known
from deep quarries in adjacent Vermilion

County. FR 22 (all drainages except Lit-

tle Vermilion), TH 43 (all drainages),

LS 79 (all drainages).

Hypentelium nigricans (Le Sueur).

Northern hog sucker.—Reported as Ca-

tostomus nigricans by Forbes & Richard-

son, Thompson & Hunt, and other earlv

authors. FR 7 (Salt Fork, Middle Fork,

Sangamon), TH 27 (all drainages ex-



322 li.i.iNois Natl'rai. History Survey Bui.i.etix Vol. 28. Art. 2

cept Little Vermilion), LS 42 (all drain-

ages except Little Vermilion).

Ictiohiis hubalus (Rafinesque). Small-

mouth buffalo.—A sinjile specimen taken

on the lower Sangamon River. FR 1

( Sangamon )

.

Ictiohus lyprinellus (V^alenciennes).

Bigmouth buffalo.—One specimen re-

ported from the lower Sangamon. TH 1

(Sangamon).
Ictiobus niyer (Rafinesque). Black

buffalo.—Reported as Ictiobus urus by

Thompson iS: Hunt and known in the

county by a single specimen taken on the

lower Sangamon River. TH 1 (Sanga-

mon).
Minytretna rn elan ops (Rafinesque).

Spotted sucker.—FR 15 (Kaskaskia, Salt

Fork, Middle Fork, Sangamon), TH 4

(not 5 as stated: Kaskaskia, Salt Fork),

LS 1 (Little Vermilion).

Moxosioma auisurum (Rafinesque).

Silver redhorse.—TH 1 (Sangamon), LS
7 (Salt Fork, Sangamon).
Moxostoma macrolepidotum macrolepi-

dotum (Le Sueur). Northern redhorse.

—

Reported as Moxostoma breviceps by

Forbes & Richardson, Thompson & Hunt,

and other early authors, but later and

until very recently called M. aureolum.

FR 1 (Salt Fork), TH 6 (Kaskaskia,

Sangamon), LS 8 (Sangamon).

Moxostoma erythrurum (Rafinesque).

Golden redhorse.—Reported as Moxos-

toma aureolum by Forbes & Richardson,

Thompson & Hunt, and other early au-

thors, who presumably based their identi-

fications on specimens of this species. The
superficially similar M. duquesnei, which

the early authors did not distinguish from

erythrurum, was not taken in the county

during the 1959 survey and is not repre-

sented among the Forbes & Richardson

and Thompson & Hunt collections still

extant. FR 11 (Salt Fork, Middle Fork,

Sangamon), TH 22 (all drainages ex-

cept Little Vermilion), LS 28 (Embar-

rass, Salt Fork, Middle Fork, Sangamon).

Gyprinidae
Campostoma anomalum pullum (Agas-

siz). Central stoneroller.—Reported as

Campostoma anomalum by Forbes &
Richardson, Thompson & Hunt, and other

early authors. This fish is assignable to

the subspecies C. a. pullum. FR 17 (Salt

Fork, Middle Fork, Sangamon), TH 64
(all drainages except Little Vermilion),

LS 102 (all drainages except Little Ver-

milion).

Carassius auratus (Linnaeus). Gold-

fish.—Several large specimens taken by

rowboat shocker from Kaufman's Clear

Lake, where they had been introduced.

Another adult was found in the Salt Fork

near Homer in 1955. LS 2 (Kaskaskia,

Salt Fork).
Cyprinus carpio Linnaeus. Carp.—FR

4 (Salt Fork, Middle Fork, Sangamon),
TH 11 (not 9 as stated: Embarrass, Salt

Fork, Sangamon), LS 56 (all drainages).

Ericymba buccata Cope. Silverjaw min-

now.—FR 22 (Kaskaskia, Salt Fork, Em-
barrass, Middle Fork), TH 79 (all drain-

ages), LS 78 (all drainages except Little

Vermilion).

Hybognathus nuchalis nuchalis Agas-

siz. Western silvery minnow.—FR 4

(Salt Fork, Middle Fork, Sangamon),
TH 9 (Kaskaskia), LS 9 (Kaskaskia).

Hybopsis aestivalis hyostoma (Gilbert).

Ohio speckled chub.—Reported from the

Middle Fork on the Champaign-Ford

county line as Hybopsis hyostomus by

Large (1903:19). The locality, which is

far removed from other records of the

species, was either ignored or overlooked

by Forbes & Richardson and Thompson
& Hunt; inasmuch as Large's specimen is

not extant for reidentification and addi-

tional specimens have never been taken,

the record is open to doubt.

Hybopsis amblops ambhps (Rafi-

nesque). Northern bigeye chub.—FR 6

(Salt Fork, Middle Fork), TH 8 (Em-

barrass, Salt Fork, Middle Fork).

Hybopsis biguttata (Kirtland). Horny-

head chub.—Reported as Hybopsis ken-

tuckiensis by Forbes & Richardson,

Thompson & Hunt, and other early au-

thors. FR 10 (Salt Fork, Middle Fork,

Sangamon), TH 46 (Kaskaskia, Middle

Fork, Sangamon), LS 70 (Kaskaskia, Salt

Fork, Middle Fork, Sangamon).
Hybopsis storeriana (Kirtland). Silver

chub.—A specimen from the Middle Fork

reported by Forbes & Richardson. A sec-

ond specimen, an individual 4.5 inches

long taken on a hook in the Salt Fork

River near Homer in July, 1952, was re-

ported to us bv Dr. Marcus S. Goldman.

FR 1 (Middle Fork), LS 1 (Salt Fork).



March, 1963 Larimore & Smith: Fishes of Champaign County 323

Notemigonus crysoleucas (Mitchill).

Golden shiner.—Reported as J bramis

crysoleucas by Forbes & Richardson,

Thompson & Hunt, and other early au-

thors. FR 20 (Kaskaskia, Salt Fork, Mid-
dle Fork, Sangamon), TH 41 (all drain-

ages), LS 46 (all drainages).

Notropis amnis amnis Hubbs & Greene.

Northern pallid shiner.—Specimens of

this species referred by Thompson & Hunt
(on different pages) to Notropis hetero-

lepis, N. cayuga, and N. c. atrocaudalis.

One of their specimens was subsequently

designated as a paratype of the new spe-

cies amnis. A re-examination of the

Thompson & Hunt specimens of "Notro-
pis blennius" still extant has revealed

specimens of amnis mixed with N . strami-

neus from three stations on the Sangamon
near Fisher. TH 3 (Sangamon).

Notropis atherinoides atherinoides Raf-

inesque. Common emerald shiner.—FR 2

(Salt Fork, Sangamon), LS 2 (Embar-
rass, Salt Fork).

Notropis hoops Gilbert. Bigeye shiner.

—Reported as Notropis illecebrosus by

Forbes & Richardson, Thompson & Hunt,
and other early authors. FR 1 (Salt

Fork), TH 2 (Middle Fork).
Notropis chrysocephalus (Rafinesque)

.

Central common shiner.—Reported as

Notropis cornutus by Forbes & Richard-

son, Thompson & Hunt, and other early

authors. FR 9 (Salt Fork, Sangamon),
TH 54 (Kaskaskia, Salt Fork, Middle
Fork, Sangamon), LS 64 (all drainages

except Little Vermilion).

Notropis dorsalis dorsalis (Agassiz).

Central bigmouth shiner.—Reported as

Notropis gilberti by Forbes & Richard-

son, Thompson & Hunt, and other early

authors. FR 1 (Salt Fork), TH 5 (San-

gamon), LS 28 (Kaskaskia, Middle Fork,

Sangamon)

.

Notropis heterolepis Eigenmann & Ei-

genmann. Blacknose shiner.—Reported as

Notropis cayuga and N . c. atrocaudalis by

Forbes & Richardson. Their records for

the Salt Fork and Sangamon drainages

presumably refer only to the blacknose

shiner. The species may have disappeared

from the county when the prairie sloughs

and natural lakes were drained. The speci-

men assigned to A^. heterolepis by Thomp-
son & Hunt is actually N. amnis amnis.

FR 2 (Salt Fork, Sangamon).

Notropis lutrensis (Baird & Girard).
Red shiner.—A species appearing in the

county since 1928. It is now abundant in

the Kaskaskia and upper Sangamon drain-

ages in a variety of river and creek habi-

tats. LS 21 (Kaskaskia, Sangamon).
Notropis rubellus (Agassiz). Rosyface

shiner.—Misidentified as "Notropis ath-

erinoides, var." by Thompson & Hunt.
Our collections from the same stations

contain rubellus and not atherinoides. Of
the three Thompson & Hunt collections

labeled atherinoides, the one extant con-

tains rubellus only. TH 3 (Middle
Fork), LS 6 (Middle Fork).

Notropis spilopterus spilopterus (Cope)
X hypsisomatus Gibbs. Spotfin shiner.

—

Included in the composite Notropis whip-
plii of Forbes & Richardson, Thompson &
Hunt, and other early authors. Of the

53 collections of "N. whipplii" reported by
Thompson & Hunt, 34 are still extant and
have been reidentified. Thirty-two of

these contain spotfin shiners. Material
from the eastern side of the county (Salt

Fork and Middle Fork) is assignable to

the nominate subspecies on the basis of

both lateral-line scale counts and body
shape, specimens from the Kaskaskia
(western side) are apparently typical hyp-

sisomatus in both characters, and speci-

mens from the Sangamon (western side)

have nearly typical lateral-line scale counts

of hypsisomatus but are intermediate be-

tween spilopterus and hypsisomatus in

body shape. FR ?, TH 32 (Kaskaskia,

Salt Fork, Middle Fork, Sangamon), LS
63 (all drainages).

Notropis stramineus (Cope). Sand
shiner.—Included in the composite No-
tropis blennius of Forbes & Richardson,

Thompson & Hunt, and other early au-

thors, but until recently called A'^. deli-

ciosus. The identity of the Forbes & Rich-

ardson specimens is not known, but prob-

ably the majority belong to this species.

Of the 44 collections of "blennius" re-

ported by Thompson & Hunt, 32 are still

extant and have been reidentified, reveal-

ing stramineus exclusively, or in part, in

all of them. FR ?, TH 32 (all drainages

except Little Vermilion), LS 93 (all

drainages).

Notropis umbratilis cyanocephalus

(Copeland). Redfin shiner.—Reported as

Notropis umbratilis atripes by Forbes &



324 Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin Vol. 28, Art. 2

Richardson, Thompson iS: Hunt, and other

early authors. Local populations are ex-

tremely variable, and subspecific identifi-

cation is based on j2;eojiraphical grounds.

FR 8 (Salt Fork, Sangamon), TH 69

(all drainages), LS 97 (all drainages).

Notropis volncellus volucellus (Cope).

Northern mimic shiner.—Probably in-

cluded in the composite Notropis blennius

of Forbes <Sc Richardson and found in 2

collections (representing two localities)

in the 32 reidentified collections still ex-

tant of Thompson & Hunt's "N. blen-

nius." FR ?, TH 2 (Middle Fork), LS 3

(Middle Fork, Sangamon).
Notropis tvhipplei (Girard). Steelcolor

shiner.—-Probably included in the com-

posite Notropis whipplii of Forbes & Rich-

ardson and found at 16 localities in the 34

reidentified collections of Thompson &
Hunt's "whipplii." FR ?, TH 16 (Kas-

kaskia. Embarrass, Salt Fork, Middle

Fork, Sangamon), LS 27 (Embarrass,

Salt Fork, Middle Fork, Sangamon).
Opsopoeodus emiliae Hay. Pugnose

minnow.—A specimen from the Salt Fork

reported by Large (1903:15). TH 2

(Kaskaskia; 1 reported from a tributary

and another found among a series of

Thompson & Hunt's "Notropis blennius"

from the Kaskaskia proper).

Phenacobius mirabilis (Girard). Suck-

ermouth minnow.—FR 18 (Kaskaskia,

Embarrass, Salt Fork, Sangamon), TH
25 (Kaskaskia, Salt Fork, Middle Fork,

Sangamon), LS 34 (all drainages except

Little Vermilion).

Pimephales notatus (Rafinesque).

Bluntnose minnow.—FR 37 (all drain-

ages except Little Vermilion), TH 111

(all drainages), LS 134 (all drainages).

Pimephales promelas promelas Rafi-

nesque. Northern fathead minnow.—FR 4

(Sangamon), TH 19 (Sangamon), LS
20 (Sangamon, Kaskaskia).

Pimephales vigilax perspicuus (Girard).

Northern bullhead minnow.—Reported as

Cliola vigilax by Forbes & Richardson,

Thompson & Hunt, and other early au-

thors. FR 6 (Sangamon), TH 4 (Salt

Fork, Sangamon).
Semotilus atromaculatus atromaculatus

(Mitchill). Northern creek chub.—FR 9

(Salt Fork, Middle Fork, Sangamon),
TH 101 (all drainages), LS 126 (all

drainages).

Ictaluridae

Ictalurus nielas (Rafinesque). Black

bullhead.—Reported as Atneiurus melas

by Forbes & Richardson, Thompson &
Hunt, and other early authors. FR 12

(Kaskaskia, Salt Fork, Middle Fork, San-

gamon), TH 12 (not 13 as stated: all

drainages except Middle Fork), LS 7 (all

drainages except Middle Fork).

Ictalurus natalis (Le Sueur). Yellow
bullhead.—Reported as Atneiurus natalis

by Forbes & Richardson, Thompson &
Hunt, and other early authors. FR 6

(Kaskaskia, Salt Fork), TH 15 (all

drainages except Embarrass), LS 38 (all

drainages)

.

Ictalurus nebulosus (Le Sueur). Brown
bullhead.—Taken only from Franzen's

Fishing Lake. Many specimens of this

species were introduced into this lake for

sport fishing during the course of our

survey. LS 1 (Salt Fork).

Ictalurus punctatus (Rafinesque).

Channel catfish.—FR 4 (Salt Fork, Mid-

dle Fork, Sangamon), TH 11 (not 8 as

stated: Salt Fork, Sangamon), LS 17

(Salt Fork, Sangamon, Middle Fork).

Noturus exilis Nelson. Slender mad-

tom.—Reported as Schilbeodes exilis by

Thompson & Hunt. TH 2 (Middle Fork,

Sangamon).
Noturus fiavus Rafinesque. Stonecat.

—

FR 1 (Sangamon), TH 5 (Salt Fork,

Middle Fork, Sangamon), LS 22 (Salt

Fork, Middle Fork, Sangamon).
Noturus gyrinus (Mitchill). Tadpole

madtom.—Reported ,as Schilbeodes gyri-

nus by Forbes & Richardson, Thompson &
Hunt, and other early authors. FR 13

(Kaskaskia, Salt Fork, Sangamon), TH
8 (not 7 as stated: Salt Fork), LS 18

(Kaskaskia, Salt Fork, Sangamon).
Noturus miurus Jordan. Brindled mad-

tom.— Reported as Schilbeodes miurus

by Forbes & Richardson, Thompson &
Hunt, and other early authors. FR 2

(Salt Fork), TH 2 (not 1 as stated: Salt

Fork), LS 8 (Embarrass, Salt Fork,

Middle Fork).

Noturus nocturnus Jordan & Gilbert.

Freckled madtom. — A specimen seined

from a pool over mixed sand-gravel and

another from a fast riffle in the middle

Sangamon River. LS 2 (Sangamon).

Pylodictis olivaris (Rafinesque). Flat-

head catfish.— Reported as Leptops olivar-



March, 1963 Larimore & Smith: Fishes of Champaign County 325

is by Thompson & Hunt. TH 1 (Sanga-

mon), LS 4 (Middle Fork, Salt Fork,

Sangamon). The flathead is probably

much more common than the available

records indicate.

Anguillidae
Ancjuilla rostrata (Le Sueur). Ameri-

can eel.—Reported as Anguilla chrysypa

by Thompson & Hunt on the basis of a

specimen caught by a fisherman in the Em-
barrass River near Villa Grove just south

of the Champaign County line. Dr. Mar-
cus S. Goldman informs us that a specimen

was taken on baited hook in the lower

Sangamon River about 1940. In the

spring of 1961, two eels were taken by

hook-and-line fishermen from a small

land-locked lake near Mahomet. We sub-

sequently learned that these fish, origi-

nally from the Wabash River, escaped

from the creel of a local fisherman. TH 1

(Embarrass), LS 1 (Sangamon).

Gyprinodontidae
Fundulus notatus (Rafinesque) . Black-

stripe topminnow.—FR 14 (Kaskaskia,

Embarrass, Salt Fork, Sangamon), TH
41 (not 43 as stated: all drainages), LS
54 (all drainages).

Poeciliidae

Garnbusia affi/iis afjinis (Baird & Gi-

rard). Western mosquitofish.—A recent

arrival in the county. LS 2 (Salt Fork).

Atherinidae
Labidesthes sicciilus (Cope). Brook

silverside.—FR 6 (Salt Fork, Sangamon),

TH 5 (not 3 as stated: Salt Fork), LS 3

(Salt Fork).

Aphredoderidae
Aphredoderus sayanus (Gilliams). Pi-

rateperch.—FR 1 (Sangamon), TH 12

(Kaskaskia, Embarrass, Sangamon), LS
13 (Kaskaskia, Embarrass, Sangamon).

Serranidae
Roccus mississippiensis (Jordan &

Eigenmann). Yellow bass.—Now known
in this county only in Kaufman's Clear

Lake and Lake-of-the-Woods, where it

has been introduced. The evidence indi-

cates that the yellow bass held a brief

tenure in the Sangamon River of Cham-

paign County from 1955 to 1958. Dr.
Marcus S. Goldman has numerous yellow
bass records for the Sangamon for 1955,
and we took specimens there in November
of 1957. The Sangamon River fish pre-

sumably came from the Lake Decatur pop-

ulation. LS 3 (Kaskaskia, Sangamon).

Gentrarchidae
Atnbloplites rupestris rupestris (Rafi-

nesque). Northern rock bass.—TH 1

(Salt Fork), LS 16 (Salt Fork, Middle
Fork, Sangamon )

.

Chaenobryttus gulosus (Cuvier). War-
mouth.—A specimen taken by us on the

Sangamon near Mahomet in November,
1957. Dr. Marcus S. Goldman reports

that he has taken the species on hook and
line in the same area. FR 3 (Kaskaskia),

TH 1 (Salt Fork), LS 1 (Sangamon).
Lepomis cyanellus Rafinesque. Green

sunfish.-—FR 23 (all drainages except Lit-

tle Vermilion), TH 38 (all drainages),

LS 75 (all drainages except Little Ver-

milion).

Lepomis hurnilis (Girard). Orange-
spotted sunfish.—FR 16 (Kaskaskia, Salt

Fork, Middle Fork, Sangamon), TH 13

(Salt Fork, Middle Fork, Sangamon), LS
9 (Salt Fork, Middle Fork, Sangamon).

Lepomis macrochirus macrochirus Ra-

finesque. Northern bluegill.—Reported as

Lepomis pallidus by Forbes & Richardson,

Thompson & Hunt, and other early au-

thors. FR 2 (Salt Fork, Sangamon), TH
1 (Salt Fork), LS 16 (Kaskaskia, Salt

Fork, Sangamon).
Lepomis megalotis megaloiis (Rafi-

nesque). Central longear sunfish.—FR 16

(Kaskaskia, Salt Fork, Middle Fork),

TH 37 (not 39 as stated: all drainages),

LS 44 (all drainages).

Lepomis microlophus (Gunther). Red-

ear sunfish.—Formerly known as Eupo-

motis heros. The widely transplanted red-

ear is a recent arrival in Champaign
County. Dr. Marcus S. Goldman recalls

catching the species in the Sangamon near

the Champaign-Piatt county line in the

summer of 1958. LS 1 (Kaskaskia).

Lepomis punctatus miniaius Jordan.

Spotted sunfish.—A specimen taken from

the outlet of Crystal Lake by Thompson
& Hunt and reported as Lepomis miniatus

(Garman's sunfish). Their specimen is no

longer extant. TH 1 (Salt Fork).



326 Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin Vol. 28, Art. 2

Micropterus dolomieui dolornieui Lace-

pede. Northern smallmouth bass.—FR 1

(Salt Fork), TH 16 (Salt Fork, Middle

Fork, Sangamon), LS 37 (Kaskaskia, Salt

Fork, Middle Fork, Sangamon).
Micropterus pitiictulatus punctulatus

(Rafinesque). Northern spotted bass.

—

Probably included in the composite Mi-
cropterus salmoides of Forbes & Richard-

son, Thompson & Hunt, and other early

authors. Their specimens of "salmoides"

are not available for re-examination. FR
?, TH ?, LS 9 (Salt Fork, Middle Fork).

Micropterus salmoides salmoides (Lace-

pede). Northern largemouth bass.—Prob-

ably included in the composite Micropter-

us salmoides of Forbes & Richardson,

Thompson <Sc Hunt, and other early au-

thors. Their specimens are no longer ex-

tant. FR ?, TH ?, LS 14 (Salt Fork,

Middle Fork, Sangamon).
Pomoxis annularis Rafinesque. White

crappie.—FR 4 (Embarrass, Salt Fork,

Sangamon), TH 2 (Sangamon), LS 16

(Kaskaskia, Salt Fork, Middle Fork,

Sangamon).
Pomoxis nigro?naculatus (Le Sueur).

Black crappie.—Reported as Pomoxis spa-

roides by Forbes & Richardson, Thomp-
son & Hunt, and other early authors. FR
7 (Kaskaskia, Salt Fork, Sangamon), TH
3 (Sangamon), LS 2 (Salt Fork, Sanga-

mon).

Percidae
Ammocrypta pellucida (Baird). East-

ern sand darter.—TH 2 (Middle Fork),

LS 3 (Middle Fork).

Etheostoma asprigene (Forbes). Mud
darter.—Reported as Etheostoma jessiae

by Forbes & Richardson. FR 2 (not 1

as stated by Thompson & Hunt: Salt

Fork and Sangamon), LS 1 (Sangamon).
Etheostoma blennioides Rafinesque.

Greenside darter.—Reported as Diplesion

blennioides by Forbes & Richardson,

Thompson & Hunt, and other early au-

thors. FR 7 (Salt Fork), TH 10 (Em-
barrass, Salt Fork, Middle Fork), LS 13

(Embarrass, Little Vermilion, Salt Fork,

Middle Fork).
• Etheostoma caeruleum Storer. Rainbow
darter.—Probably included in the compos-

ite Etheostoma coeruleum of Forbes &
Richardson ; seven localities represented

among the 11 Thompson & Hunt collec-

tions still extant. FR ?, TH 7 (Embar-
rass, Salt Fork, Middle Fork), LS 7

(Kaskaskia, Embarrass, Salt Fork, Mid-
dle Fork).
Etheostoma chlorosomum (Hay).

Bluntnose darter.—Reported as Boleoso-

ma camurum by Forbes & Richardson,

Thompson & Hunt, and other early au-

thors. FR 1 (Sangamon), TH 1 (Kas-

kaskia) .

Etheostoma flabellare flabellare (Rafi-

nesque) X lineolatum (Agassiz). Fantail

darter.— Champaign County specimens

representing an intergrade population.

Material from the Sangamon is rather dis-

tinctly striped and approaches typical line-

olatum, whereas flabellare influence pre-

dominates in our series from the Salt Fork
drainage. Specimens from the other drain-

age systems are intermediate in pattern.

FR 2 (Salt Fork), TH 16 (not 14 as

stated: Embarrass, Salt Fork, Middle

Fork, Sangamon), LS 18 (Salt Fork,

Middle Fork, Sangamon).
Etheostoma gracile (Girard). Slough

darter.—Reported as Boleichthys fusifor-

mis by Thompson & Hunt and known in

the county from only one specimen, still

extant, taken on lower Wildcat Slough.

TH 1 (Sangamon).
Etheostoma nigrum nigrum (Rafi-

nesque). Eastern Johnny darter.—Re-

ported as Boleosoma nigrum by Forbes &
Richardson, Thompson & Hunt, and other

early authors. We assign the Champaign

County material to the nominate subspe-

cies on geographical grounds. Material

from the Embarrass, Little Vermilion,

and perhaps the Kaskaskia is clearly refer-

able to Etheostoma nigrum nigrum, but

large series from the Sangamon, Salt Fork,

and Middle Fork exhibit characters of

both E. n. nigrum and E. n. eulepis Hubbs

& Greene, and specimens from the Salt

Fork and Middle Fork of the Vermilion

display predominantly eulepis characters.

FR 19 (Embarrass, Salt Fork, Sanga-

mon), TH 82 (all drainages), LS 80 (all

drainages).

Etheostoma spectabile spectabile (Agas-

siz). Northern orangethroat darter.

—

Probably included in the composite Etheo-

stoma coeruleum of Forbes & Richardson

and found in 4 of the 11 Thompson &
Hunt collections still extant. FR ?, TH 4

(Sangamon), LS 60 (all drainages).



March, 1963 Larimore & Smith: Fishes of Champaign County 327

Etheostoma zonale zonale (Cope).
Eastern banded darter.—TH 8 (Sanga-

mon), LS 6 (Sangamon).
Percina caprodes caprodes (Rafinesque)

X semifasciata (De Kay). Logperch.

—

The meager material available regarded

as representing an intergrade population.

Middle Fork specimens show greater re-

semblance to Percina caprodes semifasciata

and Kaskaskia specimens to P. c. caprodes;

Sangamon specimens are almost exactly

intermediate. FR 2 (Salt Fork, Sanga-

mon), TH 2 (Kaskaskia, Middle Fork),

LS 10 (all drainages except the Salt

Fork).

Percina maculata (Girard). Blackside

darter.—Reported as Hadropterus aspro

by Forbes & Richardson, Thompson &
Hunt, and other early authors. FR 15

(Salt Fork, Sangamon), TH 24 (all

drainages except Little Vermilion), LS
49 (all drainages except Little Ver-

milion) .

Percina phoxocephala (Nelson). Slen-

derhead darter.—Reported as Hadrop-
terus phoxocephalus by Forbes & Rich-

ardson, Thompson & Hunt, and other

early authors. FR 3 (Salt Fork, Sanga-

mon), TH 8 (Salt Fork, Middle Fork,

Sangamon), LS 18 (Salt Fork, Middle
Fork, Sangamon).

Percina sciera sclera (Swain). North-

ern dusky darter.—A specimen recently

taken in the minnow seine near Penfield,

the first record for the county. LS 1

(Middle Fork).

Sciaenidae
Aplodinotus griinniens Rafinesque.

Freshwater drum.—TH 3 (Sangamon),
LS 4 (Sangamon).

ANALYSIS OF DISTRIBUTION
PATTERNS

Of the 90 species of fishes in our an-

notated list for Champaign County, 7

[Amia calva, Carassius auratus, Ictalurus

nebulosus, Gambusia affinis, Roccus mis-

sissippiensiSj Lepomis putictatus, and Le-
pomis microlophus) are introductions and
must be excluded from any distributional

analysis of native species.

Of the remaining 83 species, 13 reach

the edges of their natural ranges within,

or very near, Champaign County. They
can be classified as northern, southern,

western, and eastern components on the
basis of the direction in which their main
ranges are located in relation to the coun-
ty. Notropis rubellus and Etheostoma
zonale are northern species that, in Illi-

nois, reach their southernmost point of
distribution within the county. Notropis
heterolepis also is a northern species that
once extended southward somewhat be-

low Champaign County, but whose range
has since retreated to the north. Noturus
nocturnus, Micropterus punctulatus, and
Etheostoma gracile are southern species

that, in Illinois, have their northernmost
records of occurrence within the county.
Notropis dorsalis, Notropis lutrensis, and
Noturus exilis are western species that, in

Illinois, reach their easternmost limit of

distribution in the county. Noturus miu-
rus, Etheostoma blennioides, and Hybopsis
amblops are eastern species that, at least

at this latitude, reach their westernmost
limit of distribution in the county. Eri-

cymba buccata, another eastern species,

occurs throughout Champaign County but
does not occur, in central Illinois, much
to the west of our area. Peripheral popu-

lations are of considerable interest in that

they can, when studied over a period of

time, provide evidence of range expansion

and withdrawal. The 13 species just men-
tioned above have been carefully studied

for such trends, and the data that they

provide are discussed under Changes in

Distribution.

The other 70 species of fishes in our

Champaign County list have more exten-

sive ranges and occur throughout this part

of the state. These 70 species, needless

to say, do not occur everywhere in the

county. In fact, only 19 species are known
to occur in all six drainages within the

county. These species are as follows:

Esox americanus

Catostomus commersoni
Erimyzon oblongus

Cyprinus carpio

Ericymba buccata

Notemigonus crysoleucas

Notropis spilopterus

Notropis stramineus

Notropis umbratilis

Pimephales notatus

Semotilus atromaculatus

Ictalurus melas

Ictalurus natalis



328 Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin Vol. 28, Art. 2

i tindulus iiotdtits

Lepomh cyanellus

Leponiis megalotis

Etheostoma niffrum

Etheostoma spectahile

Percina caprodes

Certain additional species, such as Le-

poniis macrochirus and Micropterus sal-

nioides, are know-n to be in many ponds in

all parts of the county, havinji; been intro-

duced for sport fishing, but they were not

taken in all drainages as regular com-

ponents of the stream populations.

Some species could be expected to show

seasonal differences in occurrence, as sev-

eral of our drainages are represented by

headwaters only. For example, some of

the catostomids might have been present

in headwaters during the spring months

but might have migrated downstream and

out of the county before our summer field

work began. Although our data on sea-

sonal distribution are limited, we found

no evidence to support the assumption

that spring runs of migratory species

greatly influence the occurrence of species

in Champaign County. We revisited ap-

proximately 20 stations in the county one

or more times, the revisits representing

the months of September, October, Jan-

uary, May, June, and July. Subsequent

visits to a station usually revealed a few

species that we missed on the initial visit,

but at every station the greatest number

of species was taken on the first visit,

probably because the low water levels in

July and August of 1959 had concentrated

the fishes. Moreover, the species added on

subsequent visits were usually fishes of

relatively sedentary habits rather than

strongly migratory species such as catosto-

mids.

CHANGES IN DISTRIBUTION
The earliest published references to

Champaign County fishes appear to be

those of Large (1903:19, 15), who cited

Hybopsis hyostomus (equals H. aestivalis)

and Opsopaeodus [sic] megalops (equals

Opsopoeodus ejniliae) from specific locali-

ties within the county. No date or other

information is given, but the collections

are presumed to have been made prior to

the extensive work of Forbes & Richard-

son. Both records, although published in

1903, were overlooked, or perhaps ig-

nored, by Forbes & Richardson (1908)

and all subsequent authors. The speci-

mens are no longer extant.

Although fish collections by staff mem-
bers of the Illinois State Laboratory of

Natural History, a parent agency of the

Natural History Survey, were made as

early as 1882, no references to Champaign
County fishes, except those by Large

(1903:15, 19), appeared until Forbes

(1907) published a paper on the distribu-

tion of certain Illinois fishes.

Forbes & Richardson Records
The Forbes & Richardson distribu-

tional records were plotted on the maps

in an atlas accompanying The Fishes of

Illinois or were cited in the text. Al-

though fish nomenclature of 1908 differs

markedly from that of today, we are

virtually certain that the following species

as now recognized were included in the

48 collections of Forbes & Richardson

:

Dorosonia cepedianum

Esox americanus

Carpiodes cyprinus

Carpiodes ve lifer

Catostornus commersoni

Erimyzon oblongus

Hypentelium nigricans

Ictiobus bubalus

Minytrema melanops

Moxostoma rnacrolepidotuni

Moxostoma erythrurum

Campostoma anomalum
Cyprinus carpio

Ericymba buccatfl

Hybognathus nuchalis

Hybopsis amblops

Hybopsis biguttata

Hybopsis storeriana

Notemigonus crysoleucas

Notropis atherinoides

Notropis boops

Notropis chrysQcephalus

Notropis dorsalis

Notropis heterolepis

Notropis umbratilis

Phenacobius mirabilis

Pimephales no tatus

Pimephales promelas

Pimephales vigilax

Semotilus atromaculatus

Ictalurus melas

Ictalurus natalis

Ictalurus punctatus



March, 1963 Larimore & Smith: Fishes of Champaign County 329

Noturus flaviis

Noiurus gyrinus

Noturus miurus

Fundulus notatus

Labidesthes sicculus

Aphredoderus sayanus

Chaenobryttus gulosus

Leponiis cyanellus

Leporn is humilis

Leponiis rnacrochirus

Lepomis rnegalotis

Micropterus dolomieui

Pomoxis annularis

Pomoxis nigromaculatus

Eiheostorna asprigene

Etheostonia blennioides

Etheostoma chlorosomutn

Etheostonia flabellare

Etheostoma nigrum
Percina caprodes

Percina maculata

Percina phoxocephala

In addition to the species cited above are

probabl\^ others. Forbes & Richardson's

nominal "Notropis blennius" was probably

a composite of N. stramineus and N. vo-

lucellus, their "Notropis whipplii" a com-

posite of N . spilopterus and N . ivhipplei,

their "Micropterus salmoides" a composite

of M. punctulatus and M. salmoides, and
their "Etheostoma coeruleum" a composite

of E. caeruleum and E.. spectabile. Al-

though many of the early collections have

been lost and cannot be reidentified, we
are reasonably certain that 63 species were
represented in the collections of Forbes &
Richardson and that the 2 other species

reported previously by Large (1903:15,

19) bring the total number of species col-

lected in the county by 1901 to 65.

Thompson & Hunt Records
Although the material of Forbes &

Richardson was cited in various revision-

ary studies published between 1901 and

1928, no additional Champaign County
records for this period were published in

these taxonomic papers.

Thompson & Hunt, in their 1930 pub-

lication, chose to use the nomenclature of

I

Forbes & Richardson, and many of their

'nominal species would have been difficult

I

to assign had we not had much of their

I
material for reidentification. They claimed

I

the addition of 13 species to the known
fauna of Champaign County, but restudy

of their specimens indicated that they ac-

tually added the following 15:

Hiodon alosoides

Ictiobus cyprinellus

Ictiobus niger

Moxostoma anisurum
Notropis aninis

Notropis rubellus

Noturus exilis

Py Iodic t is olivaris

Ambloplites rupestris

Lepomis punctatus

(probably introduced)

Anguilla rostrata

(from adjacent Douglas County)
A mmocrypta pellucida

Etheostoma gracile

Etheostoma zonale

A plodinotus grunniens

Their nominal "Notropis blennius" in-

cluded both N. stramineus and A^. volucel-

lus ; their "Notropis whipplii," both N.
spilopterus and N. whipplei; and their

"Etheostoma coeruleum/' both E. caeru-

leum and E. spectabile. Whether their

"Micropterus salmoides" also included M.
punctulatus is not known, as the speci-

mens have been lost.

Thompson & Hunt believed that they

missed only three species that had been

previously recorded from the county,

whereas they actually failed to rediscover

the following six

:

Ictiobus bubalus

Hybopsis aestivalis

Hybopsis storeriana

Notropis atherinoides

Notropis heterolepis

Etheostoma asprigene

The discrepancy is due to their ap-

parent misidentification of Notropis athe-

rinoides and their failure to include the

two species recorded by Large (1903:15,

19). In all, Thompson & Hunt obtained

74 species, 59 of which had been recorded

previously from the county.

Almost half of the species recorded by

both Forbes & Richardson and Thompson
& Hunt showed an increase in number of

stations and in number of drainages oc-

cupied in the approximately 30-year pe-

riod between the surveys. Many of the ap-

parent increases in abundance are of

doubtful significance because of the more

intensive collecting program of Thompson
& Hunt; however, some of the apparent



330 Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin Vol. 28, Art. 2

increases in abundance appear to be sig-

nificant, as will be shown later. Thomp-
son & Hunt believed that their data in-

dicated a pronounced increase in the

abundance and distribution of Semotilus

atromaculatus, Ericymba buccata, and

Micropterus dolotnieui and suggested the

recent arrival in the county of Aplodi-

notus gruniiiens.

A number of species showed apparent

decreases in abundance and distribution.

Some of the apparent decreases were

probably the result of cyclic changes in

populations; others probably represent

gradual disappearance of species. Thomp-
son & Hunt cited Hybogriathus nuchalis

and Minytrema melonops specifically and

noted that several other species seemed to

have declined in abundance. Comparison

of the distribution maps of Forbes &
Richardson and those of Thompson &
Hunt suggests that a reduction in numbers

of stations represented, in numbers of

drainages occupied, or in numbers of both,

also occurred in the following species:

Dorosoma cepedianunij Carpiodes cy-

prinus, C. velifer, and Moxostorna macro-

lepidotum. However, in these species the

apparent decrease in abundance and dis-

tribution was probably not real, as there

was no evidence of their decrease from

1928 to 1959. Moreover, all are large

fishes characteristic of deep pools and can

be easily missed when collecting is done

principally with a 10-foot minnow seine.

Another group of fishes, all of which are

creek species of small size, also showed

some reduction in numbers of stations or

drainages occupied, or both; but their ap-

parent reduction is assumed to have been

due to only a temporary decline in their

populations about 1928, as in 1959 none

showed evidence of reduced occurrence.

A third group of species, to be cited later,

showed striking decrease in abundance

and distribution between 1901 and 1928.

Their continued decline is documented by

more recent data.

Investigations Between 1929 and 1959

Although some observations on fishes of

Champaign County were made between

1929 and 1959 by various fishermen and

by personnel of the Illinois Natural His-

tory Survey and the University of Illinois,

no records of unusual interest were pub-

lished. Several of Thompson & Hunt's
records were cited by Luce (1933), who
utilized their collections from the head-

waters of the Kaskaskia in his study of

that river, and by O'Donnell (1935) in

his list of Illinois fishes. During the next

several j^ears, material from Champaign
County was cited in several revisionary

studies, but none of these contributed new
distributional information. Although no

concerted effort was made to obtain col-

lections from the county, occasional field

work by two University of Illinois bi-

ologists, the late H. J. Van Cleave and

H. H. Shoemaker, and by ecology classes

at the University contributed to the

knowledge of local fishes. Personnel of

the Natural History Survey, with head-

quarters in the center of the county, have

been alert to major changes in field popu-

lations and to alterations of habitats in

the area ; they have supplemented their

own observations through contacts with

fishermen and other local observers.

Recent Survey Records
Collections in 1959, and subsequently,

added 10 species to the known fauna of

Champaign County. Six of these {Amia

calva, Carassius auratus, Ictalurus nebu-

losus, Gambusia affinis, Roccus mississip-

piensisj and Lepomis microlophus) are

known to be introduced species ; three

(Lepisosteus osseus, Noturus nocturnus,

and Percina sclera) are native and pre-

sumably were always present but were

overlooked by previous investigators; one

{Not?-opis lutrensis) recently extended its

range eastward into Champaign County.

Our collections failed to reveal the pres-

ence of 11 species that were taken 30

years before by Thompson & Hunt:
Ictiobus cyprinellus

Ictiobus niger

Hybopsis amblops

Notropis amnis

Notropis boops

Opsopoeodus emiliae

Pimephales vigilax

Noturus exilis

Lepomis punctatus

Etheostoma chlorosomum
Etheostoma gracile

Our collections also failed to include

three species {Ictiobus bubalus, Hybopsis

aestivalis, and Notropis heterolepis) taken



March, 1963 Larimore & Smith: Fishes of Champaign County 331

Table 6.—Summary of collections and the number of species taken and recorded in Cham-
paign County by various collectors. Figures in parentheses indicate the numbers of collecting
stations.

Occurrence
Category



U2 Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin Vol. 28, Art. 2

Table 7.—Species showing increases in frequency of occurrence (per cent of stations in

which each species was taken) in Champaign County in three surveys; for each species is given

the number of drainages in which it was taken in each survey.

Species

Noiropis lutrensis

Ambloplites rupestr'is

Moxostoma anisiirum

Fylodictis olivaris

Notropis rub ellus

Noturus flaius
Notropis dorsalts
Moxostoma

macrolepidotum
Microptcrus dolomieui
Cyprinus carpio

Hypentelium nigricans

Notropis umbratilis

Scmotiliis atromaculatus
Notropis chrysocephalus
Hybopsis biguttata

Campostoma anomalum

Forbes & Richardson

Per Cent of

Stations

2.1

2.1

2.1

2.1

8.3

14.6

16.7

18.7

18.7

20.8

35.4

Number of

Drainages

Thompson & Hunt

Per Cent of

Stations

0.0

0.8

0.8

0.8

2.4

4.0

4.0

4.8

12.7

8.6

21.4

54.8

80.1

42.9

36.5

50.8

Number of

Drainages

L.arimore & Smith

Per Cent of

Stations

13.8

10.5

4.6

2.6

3.9

14.5

18.4

5.3

24.3

36.8

27.6

63.8

83.0

52.0

46.0

67.1

Number of

Drainages

the\' are peripheral populations, A*", rubel-

lus reaching its southernmost point of dis-

tribution, at least in eastern Illinois,

within Champaign County, and the other

two reaching their easternmost limits of

distribution in the county. N . rubellus ap-

pears to have extended its range south-

ward into the countv between 1899 and

1928 and to have replaced the allied N.
atherinoides in both drainages where ru-

bellus was found in 1959. A^. dorsails has

been known in the county for at least 60

years; there is evidence from another

source, in addition to the Champaign
County data, that its range is gradually

shifting eastward. A similar trend is

Table 8.—Species showing decreases in frequency of occurrence (per cent of stations in

which each species was taken) in Champaign County in three surveys; for each species is given

the number of drainages in which it was taken in each survey.



March, 1963 Larimore & Smith: Fishes of Champaign County 3^3

shown by N. lutrensis, which entered the

county between 1928 and 1959. Amblo-
pUtes rupestris and Micropterus dolomieui

show an irrefutable increase in abundance

and occurrence within Champaign Coun-

ty, but there is no evidence that their

ranges within the state have changed.

These species would have been benefited

by the increased stream gradient and

lower maximum water temperatures that

may have resulted, as suggested in the sec-

tion on Changes in Stream Habitats,

from drainage and dredging operations.

Similarly, Hypentelium nigricans, N.
chrysQcephalus, Hybopsis biguttata, No-
turus flavus, and CampostOTna anomalum
show decided, if inexplicable, increases in

occurrence within the county, but their

over-all ranges within the state appeared

to be the same in 1959 as 60 years before.

On the basis of evidence from the three

surveys, 15 species exhibited an equally

striking decrease in abundance and in

shrinkage of distributional pattern within

the county over the 60-year period of

study. These species, the percentage of

stations in which they were found, and

the number of drainages in which they

I

were taken at each survey are listed in

I

table 8.

1 Data for the entire period covered by

1 the three surveys indicate that Ictiobus

I bubalus, Hybopsis aestivalis, and Notropis

I heterolepis disappeared from Champaign
I County before 1928. N . heterolepis, if

Forbes & Richardson correctly identified

I the specimens to which they assigned this

;
name, is of particular interest because it

occurred in two different drainage systems

[prior to 1899 and probably disappeared

'with the draining of the once extensive

I

prairie marshes. /. bubalus may be ex-

Ipected to be taken again in Champaign

I

County, for it occurs in large streams only

la few miles outside the county.

I
Hybopsis amblops, Pimephales vigilax,

\Etheostoma chlorosoniuni, Notropis boops,

iand Opsopoeodus erniliae may have de-

jclined in numbers by 1928; they disap-

Ipeared between 1929 and 1959. The re-

Imaining seven species listed in table 8 are

'still present, but they are much less com-
|mon than formerly. All of them except

,Esox americanus suggest that their marked
'decline in the county occurred between
1899 and 1928. One, Mitiytrema mela-

nops, was described by Large (1903:12)
as "abundant in the Wabash basin and in

the headwaters of the Kaskaskia" and "ap-
parently prefers the weedy prairie creeks

in situations where it is abundant." E.
americanus was evidently about equally

common in 1899 and 1928 but had de-

creased sharply by 1959, presumably be-

cause of the destruction by dredging of

its preferred habitat (pools with luxuriant

aquatic vegetation).

The extirpation of six other species

{Ictiobus cyprinellus, I. niger, Notropis
aiunis, Noturus exilis, Leponiis punctatus,

and Etheostoma gracile) from Champaign
County is almost certain ; they have not

been included in table 8 because informa-

tion regarding their abundance, or even

their presence, was unavailable prior to

the 1928 investigation. Of the extirpated

species, E. gracile, N. exilis, and Hybopsis
amblops are noteworthy because they

were, until 1928, peripheral populations

in the county. The northernmost record

in the range of E. gracile, the eastern-

most record in the range of N. exilis, and
the westernmost record of H. amblops, at

least in this region, were in Champaign
County. Within the past 30 j'ears, shrink-

age in the ranges of these three species, re-

spectively to the south, west, and east,

has occurred. This shrinkage is evident

over the state as a whole as well as within

Champaign County.
Despite the impressive changes in

abundance and distribution of the species

discussed in the paragraphs above, it is dif-

ficult to describe the changes in the

Champaign County fish fauna as radical,

for roughly half of the species showed no

decided trends. Examination of distribu-

tion maps, figs. 15-70, that accompany

this report will reveal that the occurrence

of several species was remarkably similar

throughout the 60-year period of observa-

tion. Several species exhibited consider-

able changes in distribution but these spe-

cies cannot be regarded as being any more

or less common, or more or less widely

distributed, in the county in 1959 than

they were in 1928 or 1899. In view of

the great changes in land use, in the

stream courses, and in the stream habitats

that occurred in the county over a 60-

year period, and the catastrophic effects

of the several drought years since 1930,



334 Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin Vol. 28, Art. 2

Table 9.—The number of species of fish taken and recorded in each of the six Champaign
County drainages and the number of species restricted to each of these drainages.



March, 1963 Larimore Si Smith: Fishes of Champaign County 335

Table 10.—Changes (increases or decreases)

between surveys (FRr= Forbes & Richardson;
TH == Thompson & Hunt; LS = Larimore &
Smith) in the number of species of fish in

Champaign County drainages. Changes include

both the taking of species not previously taken

and the failure to retake species previously

taken in a drainage. Forbes & Richardson
made no collections in the Little Vermilion.

Drainage



Mb Illinois N atirai. History Survky Bli.lktin \'()1. 28. Art. 2

Pinup halt's n o tat us

Noturus miurus
Etheostotna nigrum
Cyprinus carpio, youn^
Moxostoma spp., Nounj;

Carpiodes spp., xount:

Hypt'nttliu/n nitjricaiis. young
Pi'rcina niaciilata

Carpiodes cyprinus

Hybognathus nuchalis

No fropis lutrensis

Pools: deep, slufii^ish

Leponiis rnct/alotis

Microptcrus doloniieui

.1 nibloplites ruprstris

Esox americanus

Erimyzon ohlongus

Noternigonus crysoleucas

Lepomis hum ill

Pimephales promelas

Aphredoderus sayanus

Lepomis macrochirus

Ictalurus natalis

Ictalurus melas

Noturus gyrinus

Notropis umbratilis

Lepomis cyanellus

Fundulus notatus

Species of Small Rivers
Riffles: sand and j^ravel

Notropis u'hipplei

A m?nocrypta pellucida

Phenacohius mirabilis

Notropis dorsalis

Riffles: boulders and rubble

Hypentelium nigricans

Etheostoma blcnnioides

Noturus flavus

Notropis rubellus

Etheostoma zoiiale

Pools: shallow, moderate velocity

Moxostoma erythrururn

Percina phoxocephala

Moxostoma macrolepidotum
Carpiodes velifer

Percina caprodes

Hyhognathus nuchalis

Leponiis megalotis

Lepomis cyanellus

Pools: deep, sluggish

Alicropterus punctulatus

Moxostoma anisurum
Cyprinus carpio

Dorosoma cepedianum
Micropterus salmoides

Pomoxis annularis

Pylodictis olivaris

Lepomis macrochirus

A plodinotus grunniens

htalurus natalis

Ictalurus melas

Species Associated With Various
Ecological Factors

From each of our quantitative samples,

the number and weight of each species

per 100 square yards were recorded on
IBM sorting cards along with measure-

ments or appraisals of the following 13

ecological factors of the habitats: (1)
average depth, (2) average width, and

(3) average water velocity; composition

of the bottom materials as percentage of

(4) clay, (5) silt, (6) sand, (7) silt

and sand, (8) gravel, and (9) rubble;

occurrence of (10) aquatic vegetation,

(11) debris, and (12) bank vegetation;

degree of (13) water turbidity. Each of

these ecological factors was assigned

numerical values to express the total actual

range of field measurements (examples:

depth in feet, per cent sand).

For each value of an ecological factor

(for example, oi'er bottom materials that

were 30 per cent sand), we determined:

(1) the total number of individuals of

each species associated with tic

value.

Example: 100 creek chubs taken

over 30 per cent sand.

(2) the number of collections in which
this species occurred.

Example: Creek chubs occurred in

10 collections.

(3) the total number of collections associ-

ated with the ecological value.

Example : Bottom materials com-
posed of 30 per cent sand were
found in 20 collections.

(4) the average number of fish of each

species found with the value, figured

by dividing (1) by (3).

Example:

100 creek chubs over 30% sand _
20 collections over 30% sand

5 chubs per collection over 30% sand

(5) the per cent of collections associated

with the ecological value that con-

tained the species, figured bv dividing

(2) by (3).



March, 1963 Larimore & Smith: Fishf.s of Champaign County 337

Example

:

10 collections of chubs _
20 collections over 30% sand

50 per cent of collections over this

bottom contained chubs

Thus, in the examples above, five creek

chubs were taken per collection over 30

per cent sand bottom material, and creek

chubs were present in 50 per cent of such

collections.

Ecological associations were determined

for collections from each drainage system

and then for the entire county.

The association figures revealed ( 1

)

ecological factors that comprised the gen-

eral habitat of each species (used in assign-

ing species to stream habitats in the pre-

ceding section)
; (2) inconsistencies that

appeared when a species was related to a

specific ecological factor in one stream

system and not in another; and (3) the

absence of any single factor that deter-

mined the distribution or abundance of

most species.

Such ecological associations may be of

definite value in defining the general habi-

tat of a species but are quite misleading

in determining its environmental require-

ments, for the influences of each environ-

mental factor in a natural habitat cannot

be separately evaluated. We cannot be

sure just which factor or factors in a

habitat have a controlling influence on

a species. For example, gizzard shad

showed a high degree of association with

deep, quiet pools. However, they may
have been responding not to depth or to

low water velocity but to the soft sands

and silts usually found in such pools.

Too, a species might have been closely

associated with a specific factor that did

not comprise a noticeable part of the habi-

tat.

A few species were closely restricted to

rather specialized habitats. The restric-

tions, while quite obvious during field

collecting, were not always shown by our

calculations. Some of the most notable

examples were Atnmocrypta pellucidaj

which occurred only in clear water flow-

ing over clean sand; Esox arnericanus,

which reached its greatest abundance in

quiet, silt-bottomed pools choked with

vegetation ; Noturus flavus, which seemed

to prefer deep rifiFles or shallow pools

with moderate current and scattered rub-

ble and flat rocks; and A phredoderus say-

anus, which was invariably in mud-bot-
tomed pools of streams with little current.

However, in general, most fishes showed
a remarkable plasticity in their environ-

mental tolerance.

Species Associated With
Other Species

Associations between species can be

determined (1) through examining which
species are mutually associated with a set

of ecological factors and (2) through ex-

amining the mutual occurrence and abun-
dance of two or more species. The degree

of association between pairs of several

kinds of common Champaign County fishes

was determined by calculating the coef-

ficient of correlation (r) between their

numbers in 100 square yards of stream.

Coefficients were determined for the col-

lections from each drainage system, as

well as for the entire county. Several

definite and sometimes surprising associa-

tions were evident.

Notropis dorsalis—Ericymho buc-
cata.—Champaign County is on the edge

of the range of each of these species, A'o-

tropis dorsalis becoming more abundant
westward and Ericymba buccata becoming
more abundant eastward. Because of the

east-west separation in distribution, these

two species usually do not occur abun-

dantly in the same drainage system. They
have been considered ecological equiva-

lents, and competition between the two
has been implied. Trautman (1957:376)
noted the shrinking in size of the Ohio
range of A', dorsalis and the invasion and

great increase in numbers of F.. buccata in

a territory formerly occupied by dorsalis.

However, in our Sangamon River collec-

tions, where both species were abundant,

they occurred together in a highly signifi-

cant degree (P less than 0.01) of associ-

ation, table 11. This situation indicates

their preference for similar habitats and

disputes the idea that there is strong

competition between the two. A", dorsalis,

although occurring in two other Cham-
paign County drainages ( Kaskaskia and
Middle Fork), was abundant only in the

Sangamon, so that further comparisons

could not be made.



338 Ii.i.iNois Natural History Survey Bulletin V^ol. 28, Art. 2

Table 11.—Decree of association between four species of fish in the Sangamon drainage.

Correlation coefficient (r) of 0.438 is significant at the 0.02 level.

Species



March, 1963 Larimore & Smith : Fishes of Champaign County 339

species on certain ecological factors. These
factors may occur together in one stream

system, thus bringing two species together,

or they may be separated in another

stream system, thus separating species.

Two species might occur together tempo-

rarily or abnormally, as during periods of

low water when many species may be

forced into constricted water areas.

Thompson & Hunt (1930:66) stated,

"Most instances of the association of dif-

ferent species of fishes are explained satis-

factorily by similar environmental prefer-

ences." However, they pointed out a very

significant exception to this statement in

their discovery of a close association be-

tween Hybopsis higuttata and Notropis

chrysocephalus. For these two species, they

suggested a direct dependence, at least at

some stage in the life cycle. Our 1959
collections revealed a significant (P less

than 0.01) association between these two
minnows when all the collections for the

county were considered together, but no

consistency of association in any of the

separate drainage systems, even though

both species were taken in rather great

numbers in four of the systems.

GENERAL ABUNDANCE
AND OCCURRENCE

The use of collecting methods in 1959

that differed from those of 1928 contribu-

ted to the difficulty of comparing the two

surveys with respect to the general abun-

dance and occurrence of fishes as recorded.

Some of the variables in such compari-

sons were eliminated by consistently fol-

lowing throughout each survey a proce-

dure adapted to it and by excluding from
consideration any stations that in either

survey were influenced strongly by pollu-

tion or that were not visited by both sur-

vey parties. Seventy-one collections were
then available for comparison.

Average Number of Species
Per Station

A consistently larger number of species

per station was found in collections taken

in the 1959 than in the 1928 survey. The
average was 13.2 species per station in

1928 and 19.0 in 1959; the ratio was
1 :1.4, table 13. The samples taken in the

later survey were considerably larger nu-

merically and thus might be expected to

contain a higher percentage of those

species present at the collecting stations.

In the two surveys, the drainages were in

the same order with respect to average

number of species per station ; for example,

in each survey, the Middle Fork had the

largest number of species per station and

the Embarrass the smallest number.

In the 1959 survey, quantitative col-

lections from the blocked-of? stations

produced between 88 and 97 per cent of

the total number of species collected at

Table 13.—Average number of species per station and average number of fish per 100 square

yards taken in 1928 and 1959 at 71 stations (not noticeably affected by pollution) in five major
drainages of Champaign County (no quantitative samples were taken from the Little Vermilion)

;

also, average number of pounds of fish per 100 square yards in 1959.

Drainage
System

Middle
Fork ...

Sangamon
Salt Fork
Embarrass
Kaskaskia

All

systems

Number
OF

Stations

5

28

18

9

11

71

Average Number of Species

PER Station

1928

Total
Collec-

tion

20.6

17.3

9.1

6.8

11.2

13.2

1959



340 Illinois Natural History Survky Bulletin Vol. 28, Art. 2

any site ; in other words, we added

approximately 10 per cent more species

by "cruising" with a seine in adjacent

habitats. W^ith the small amount of effort

expended, "cruisinj;" furnished desirable

additions to the collections.

Average Number of Fish
Per 100 Square Yards

Although the average numbers of fish

per 100 square yards collected in both

surveys varied greatly from stream to

stream, table 13, the county averages for

the two surveys did not differ greatly

;

the ratio of the 1928 to the 1959 average

was 1:1.2. The most striking difference

between the two surveys was that the

Middle Fork produced the greatest num-
ber of fish per 100 square yards in 1928

and next to the lowest number in 1959,

whereas the Embarrass yielded the lowest

number in 1928 and the highest number in

1959. There was no apparent habitat

change that might account for this dif-

ference. A difference of the same kind

was not evident in the number of species

taken or in the weight of fish collected in

the two surveys of these streams. The
highest ratio of increase from 1928 to

1959 in the number of species as well as

in the number of fish collected per 100

square yards occurred in the Embarrass,

although in the 1959 survey the number
of species and the pounds collected in the

stream were low, table 13.

Average Weight of Fish
Per 100 Square Yards

The Aveights of Champaign County
fish taken in 1959 could not be compared
with those taken in 1928 because there

were no exact weight data from the

Thompson & Hunt survey. Thompson &
Hunt (1930:39) estimated that they took

150 pounds of fish per acre in the 1928
collections. In the 1959 survey, the num-
ber of pounds per 100 square yards varied

from 0.9 in the Kaskaskia to 5.1 in the

Middle Fork and averaged 2.6 for the

entire county. This county average is

equivalent to 124.4 pounds per acre.

The poundage figures from the 1959
survey should not be regarded as repre-

senting the total population present in

any of the areas fished. Using the electro-

fishing equipment employed in the 1959

survey of Champaign County to fish Jor-

dan Creek, a small stream in adjoining

V'ermilion County, Larimore (1961:3—5)
took an average of 54 per cent of the

weight and 51 per cent of the number of

the fish population present in the areas

fished. The Jordan Creek population

taken by electrofishing and other means
amounted to nearly 25,000 fish weighing

163.9 pounds per acre. If the same rate

of electrofishing success applied to our

Champaign County collections, the total

populations would have been close to an

average of 250 pounds per acre for the

stations worked in 1959.

DISTRIBUTION AND
STREAM SIZE

Thompson & Hunt, using their 1928

Champaign County collections, explored

both the composition and the size of fish

populations in relation to stream size, ex-

pressed as square miles of drainage basin

at point of collection. They related stream

sizes to the numbers and weights of fish,

to the average sizes of fish taken, to the

number of species, and to the distribution

of various species. They grouped their

collections into 10 classes according to

stream size at the collecting stations, be-

ginning with stations having 0.5-1.0

square mile of drainage and doubling the

stream sizes up to the class of 256.0-

512.0 square miles.

Relationships With Stream Size

We have analyzed quantitative data

from the 1959 survey in a manner similar

to that used by Thompson & Hunt in or-

der to determine whether the 1959 collec-

tions support the conclusions of Thompson
& Hunt (1930:41-6), given in italics

following paragraph headings below. In-

cluding only those stations receiving no

noticeable pollution and those visited in

both 1928 and 1959, table 14, we plotted

our data for 1959 in fig. 13 to corre-

spond roughly to the treatment shown by

Thompson & Hunt in their fig. 6; that

is, we combined the data for our two

smallest classes of stream size and for

our three largest classes of stream size.

Thompson & Hunt combined the data for

their three smallest and their three largest

classes of stream sizes. We made no quan-

titative collections from the two smallest



March, 196,^ Larimore Si Smith: Fishes of Champaign County 341

Table 14.—Average number of species per station and average number and weight of fish

taken per 100 square yards in 1928 and 1959 at 71 stations (not noticeably affected by pollution)
classified bv size of drainage basin; also, average number of pounds of fish per 100 square yards
in 1959.

Stream
Size

(Square
Miles of
Drain-
age )

*

2-4 --.

4-8

8-16 .

16-32
32-64 .

64-128
128-256

256-512

Number
OF

Stations

2

4

13

10

17

5

10

10

Average Number of Species
PER Station

1928

Total
Collec-

tion

3.0

10.2

9.5

13.3

14.2

14.0

20.0

11.9

1959

Quanti-
tative

Sample

7.5

10.5

12.2

15.6

15.9

21.0

26.1

22.8

Total
Collec-

tion

8.5

11.5

13.5

16.2

17.9

21.8

28.3

24.9

Ratio

1928: 1959

2.8

1.1

1.4

1.2

1.3

1 6

1.4

2.1

Average Number of Fish
PER 100 Square Yards

1928



342 Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin Vol. 28, Art. 2

Table 15.—Correlation between size of drainage area (square miles) and the number of

species per collection and the number and weight of fish taken per 100 square yards at 70*

stations in 1959.



March, 1963 Larimore & Smith: Fishes of Champaign County 343

shown in tables 16-23. Distribution pat-

terns were different for each species ; some

species showed definite patterns of distri-

bution based on stream sizes, whereas

others occurred seemingly with no rela-

tion to stream sizes.

As might be expected in a group of

streams that differed from each other in

Table 16.—Suckers. Average numbers of each of several species taken in the 1959 survey
(quantitative samples only) in streams of various size ranges. Each species average is for only

those stream systems in which the species occurred in the quantitative collections.

Species

Drainage Area of Stream in Square Miles at
Point of Collection

-16 32 6A 128- -256 512

Erimyzon oblongus
Catostomus commersoni ..

Hypeniclium nigricans...

Moxostoma macrolepi-

dotum*
Moxostoma anisurumf..

.

Moxostoma erythrurumX
Carpiodes cyprinus%

Carpiodes velifer%

105.6

6.2

4.6



344 Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin Vol. 28, Art. 2

habitat succession and in dej^ree of hu-

man-induced modification, most fish spe-

cies showint; definite patterns of distribu-

tion based on stream size did not exhibit

these patterns in all the Champaif^n Coun-

ty streams in which they were present.

However, some support for the Thomp-
son & Hunt concept expressed above was
found. The following species showed
somewhat consistent distribution patterns

Table 19.—Other minnows and the carp. Average numbers of each of several species takei

in the 1959 survey (quantitative samples only) in streams of various size ranges. Each species

average is for only those stream systems in which the species occurred in the quantitative col-j

lections.

Species

Drainage Area of Stream in Square Miles at
Point of Collection

16 32 64- -128- -256 512

Semotilus atromaciilatus

Phrnacohius mlrabHls
Ericymba buccata

Hybopsis biguttata* -

Notcmigoniis crysoleucas

Cyprinus carpio

250.0



March, 1963 Larimore <Sc Smith: Fishes of Champaign County 345

in relation to stream size in at least three

of five drainage systems in the county:

Catostotuus cornmersoiii

Erimyzon oblonffus

Hypenteliuni nigricans

Cyprinus carpio

Ericymba buccata

Ictalurus natalis

Lepomis cyanellus

Etheostoma spectabile

Because of great variation in habitat

succession among Champaign County
streams, we might suppose that the species

showing some consistency in distribution

pattern in relation to stream size were
those adapted to a wide variety of habitat

conditions or to a set of conditions closely

related to stream size. The following spe-

cies apparently were not adapted to these

conditions, for their distribution patterns

showed no consistency from stream to

stream and little correlation with stream

or drainage size

:

Notropis chrysocephalus

Notropis stramineus

Notropis umbratilis

Noturus gyrinus

Lepomis megalotis

Etheostoma blennioides

Etheostoma nigrum
Percina maculata

Thompson & Hunt suggested that the

place of greatest abundance of a species

might be related to a specific stream

size. In 1959, each species listed below
was taken in greatest abundance in a spe-

cific stream size in each drainage:

Moxostoma erythrurum

Campostoma anomalum
Hybopsis biguttata

Notropis spilopterus

Semotilus atromaculatus

Table 22.—Darters. Average numbers of each of several species taken in the 1959 survey
(quantitative samples only) in streams of various size ranges. Each species average is for only
those stream systems in which the species occurred in the quantitative collections.

Species

Drainage Area of Stream in Square Miles at
Point of Collection

2 — 8 16 32- -64- -128 256- -512

Etheostoma nigrum
Etheostoma spectabile -

Percina maculata
Etheostoma flabellare*

Etheostoma caeruleumf.
Etheostoma blennioides'^

Percina caprodes%
Percina phoxocephala*i\ -

Etheostoma zonale^^

1.2

38.0

23.7

6.8

4.1

3 6

0.4

0.8

3.9



346 Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin Vol. 28. Art. 2

Other hj'potheses by Thompson & Hunt
suggest that in certain species the entire

population is confined to a certain stream

size of very narrow limits. In the 1959

collections, none of the species (among
those taken in sufficient numbers to sup-

port such a conclusion) was confined to

a certain stream size in more than two or

three of the five county drainages con-

sidered here. This lack of restricted dis-

tribution was due probably to the lack of

restricted habitats; in streams of the sizes

found in Champaign County, some habi-

tats that are characteristic of large streams

were found upstream and many habitats

that are characteristic of small streams

were found downstream. Even ecological

factors most closely related to stream size,

such as bottom materials and vegetation,

were not restricted to a degree that was
known to limit the distribution of any

species.

In both 1928 and 1959, young and

adults of most species occurred abundantly

in the same areas. However, the young of

some of the suckers had their greatest fre-

quency of occurrence upstream. The fol-

lowing species (in addition to most of the

suckers, with their well-known upstream

movements to spawn in spring) showed
proportionately greater numbers of small

fish than large in the upstream areas

:

Campostoma anomalum
Cyprinus carpio

Hybognathus nuchalis

Ictalurus natalis

AmblopUtes rupesiris

Lepomis macrochi?-us

Micropterus dolomieui

Micropterus punctulatus

Conclusions on Relationships
Information from the 1959 collections

reinforced the hypotheses of Thompson &
Hunt regarding the distribution of num-
ber of species and number of individuals

per unit area in relation to stream size,

and it agreed moderately well with their

theories regarding average size of fish and
distribution of weight per unit area.

Some of the other suggested relationships

between the fishes and stream size appear

less tenable, probably because of the

great variation in habitat currently found

in Champaign County streams. These re-

lationships generally follow the ecological

succession of streams as illustrated by

Shelford (1911) in his collections of fishes

from creeks in the Chicago region. Shel-

ford's work and the studies of Champaign
County fishes are based on the assumption

that similar fish communities occupy sim-

ilar physiographic stages in aging (base

leveling) of a stream. Thompson & Hunt
contributed several clear, practical expres-

sions and interpretations of stream suc-

cession, and their use of drainage area as

an expression of stream size can be con-

sidered a substantial contribution. The
1959 survey adds further to the knowledge

of succession in warm-water streams. It

provides data to substantiate many parts

of the concept of succession, but at the

same time offers an explanation for the

many examples of failure of fish distribu-

tion to fit the theoretical sequence of

stream succession. The major reason for

this failure is that base leveling does not

often produce a perfect geologic succes-

sion and a uniform progression of eco-

logical factors.

DISTRIBUTION AND
POLLUTION

Types of pollution have changed con-

siderably during the years spanned by the

three surveys of Champaign County fishes.

Organic pollution, which began even be-

fore the period of the backj^ard privy, has

existed to the present time with its mod-

ern scientific treatment of domestic

wastes. Sources of chemical pollution have

appeared ; some of these have disappeared

while others continue to threaten aquatic

life. Pollution becomes most severe in

areas of dense population and industrial

development; thus, in Champaign Coun-

ty, it is most severe in the region of

Champaign-Urbana, which serves as the

focus of the present study. (The State of

Illinois Sanitary Water Board in 1951

defined pollution to include alteration of

the physical, chemical, and biological

properties of any waters to render them

harmful to fish or other aquatic organisms.

This definition, which would include the

effects of temperature change, sediments,

and abnormal chemical levels in effluents,

will be followed here.)

At the time Forbes & Richardson made

their collections in the West Branch,

around 1899, untreated organic wastes



March, 1963 Larimore & Smith: Fishes of Champaign County 347

from Champaign and Urbana were car-

ried by two gravity-flow sewers that dis-

charged directly into the lower Boneyard
creek and into the nearby West Branch
proper. There was some additional pol-

lution from stables, the power plant, and
a few small industries, but the collections

of Forbes & Richardson indicate that the

fish population in the West Branch had
not been seriously afifected, as a variety

of species, similar to that which might be

found in nearby streams unaffected by

pollution, was present, table 24.

A vivid description of conditions in the

Boneyard and the West Branch of the

Salt Fork for about two decades fol-

lowing the work of Forbes & Richardson

was given by Baker (1922:170-85). By

1918, the Boneyard was apparently barren
of clean-water organisms. The West
Branch from Urbana to St. Joseph was
laden with masses of decomposing matter
made up of foul-water algae and protozoa,
and its bottom was inhabited by slime
worms. Even below the junction of the

West Branch and the East Branch, con-
ditions were septic, and clean-water life

did not appear for a distance of several

miles downstream.
In 1917, legislation permitted the or-

ganization of the Urbana-Champaign San-
itary District with the result that, by
1924, the sewage from both cities passed
through a disposal plant. Although the

disposal plant served to improve conditions
in the West Branch, a high level of pol-

Table 24.—Numbers of collections in which each of 22 species was taken in three sections
of the West Branch and below by Forbes & Richardson (FR), Thompson & Hunt (TH), and
Larimore & Smith (LS). No species not taken by Larimore & Smith is included. Figures in

parentheses below FR, TH, and LS indicate numbers of collections made, except that they do
not include collections made by Thompson & Hunt or Larimore & Smith subsequent to their
initial visits. Species taken in the subsequent visits and at no other time are indicated by -|-.



348 Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin Vol. 28, Art. 2

lution still existed, and very few fishes

were found there by Thompson (Sc Hunt
when they made their collections in 1928.

Improvements in the efficiency of the san-

itary system were made at frequent inter-

vals between 1928 and 1959, and at pres-

ent most of the Champaign and Urbana

wastes are given complete treatment. In

recent years, Rantoul, Gibson City, and

the Chanute Air Force Base have in-

stalled sewage treatment plants.

Although, in the past 60 years, Cham-
paign County has lost such sources of

pollutants as the early gas plants and

stables, and has improved the sewer sys-

tems and the treatment of human waste,

it still has to contend with domestic sew-

age from outlets illegally connected to

storm sewers; chemicals that pass un-

changed through the treatment plant; oils

that wash from roads and machinery;

wastes from canning plants, milk plants,

and soybean mills ; modified water tem-

peratures ; and agricultural chemicals,

such as modern herbicides and insecti-

cides. It has the University of Illinois

chemical laboratories, the Chanute Air

Force Base machinery, and an ever-in-

creasing number of industries.

Along with these pollutants, there is

the growing problem of an increasing vol-

ume of effluents, which may be detri-

mental to aquatic life, no matter how well

they have been treated. The Champaign-

Urbana community and the West Branch

provide a good example. In October, 1917,

a total flow of 3,000,000 gallons per day

was reported for the Salt Fork below the

disposal plant (Baker 1922:171). About
half of this volume (1,500,000 gallons

per day) was from the sanitary treatment

plant. The natural stream flow was low
when the measurement was made and is

comparable to that during the low water

period of September, 1959, when we
studied the West Branch.

In September, 1959, the total volume

of sewage going through the plant was

7,276,000 gallons per day, nearly five

times the volume cited by Baker for 1917.

(This and similar 1959 figures are from a

monthly report of the Urbana-Champaign
Sanitary District.) If the natural volume

of the flow in the West Branch has not

changed over these years, and the sewage

effluent has increased nearly five-fold, the

West Branch below the disposal plant

must be nearly three times as large as it

was in 1917. The total flow has changed

from one-half effluent in 1917 to four-

fifths effluent in 1959. In September, 1959,

this effluent had a biochemical oxygen de-

mand of 9 p.p.m., which would quickly

reduce the oxygen in the natural stream

water with which it was mixed ; natural

agitation of the flowing waters would, of

course, partially replace the dissolved ox-

ygen used up by the effluent material. In

spite of the present high level of efficiency

for the treatment plant, which produces

an effluent that is as nearly perfect as

sanitary engineers consider practical, the

stream remains unfit for most aquatic life.

The problem centers on the great volume

of effluent that is produced and on the

accumulation of chemical agents that pre-

clude existence of clean-water organisms.

Areas of Chronic Pollution

Seven principal areas of chronic pollu-

tion, fig. 14, affect the distribution of

Champaign County fishes, figs. 15-70.

The Boneyard.—Because of its loca-

tion in the center of Champaign-Urbana,
fig. 14, the Boneyard receives quantities

of varied pollutants. Although Forbes &
Richardson collected Johnny darters from

the stream, some pollution probably existed

then. According to Baker ( 1922: 172), at

the time of his study the Boneyard was
receiving domestic pollutants as well as

oil and tar from the gas works; pollution

was extremely severe in 1915. Thompson
& Hunt stated that the Boneyard con-

tained no permanent fish population in

1928, although at that time, as well as in

1959, some fishes occasionally moved into

polluted areas during high water and re-

,

mained for short periods. a
In 1958, black bullheads taken from the

Market Street gutters during a period of

high water were collected by several peo-

ple and identified by Dr. Marcus S. Gold-

man. Apparently the fish had moved up

the Boneyard, through the storm sewers,

and out through the street drains. Except

for similar brief ingressions, no fish occur

at the present time in the Boneyard. It

remains badly polluted by waste from im-

properly connected household drains and

from businesses discharging directly into

the ditch or into storm drains.



March, 1963 Larimore & Smith: Fishes of Champaign County 349

West Branch. — Although Forbes & riety of species and abundance of indi-

Richardson found a variety of fishes in viduals. The West Branch is divisible

the West Branch of the Salt Fork during into three sections: Section 1, the 4 miles

their survey, this creek has subsequently of creek above the Urbana-Champaign
undergone drastic reduction in both va- disposal plant; Section 2, the creek from

Fig. 14.—Distribution of pollution in Champaign County and location of seven stations at

which chemical analjses were made in 1960. Severe pollution was found in Copper Slough and

Phinney Branch west of Champaign-Urbana (city near center of map), the Boneyard in

Champaign-Urbana; the West Branch of the Salt Fork east of Champaign-Urbana, the East

Branch of the Salt Fork east of Rantoul (upper center of map), and the small stream from

Chanute Field south of Rantoul.



1

350 Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin Vol. 28, Art. 2

the disposal plant to its junction with the

East Branch; and Section 3, the stream

(actually the Salt Fork) from the junc-

tion of the East and West branches down-
stream for a distance of 4 miles.

Section 1 presumably was relatively

free of pollution when Forbes & Richard-

son collected at least 23 species there. In

1928, Thompson & Hunt described this

section as clean and relatively free of pol-

lution ; they reported 20 species in the

area. Since 1928, however, waste water

from the northward expansion of Urbana
and from several industrial plants has

polluted this portion of the stream. In

1959, only 15 species of fish were found
there, table 24.

Examples of species that disappeared

early from this section were the spotted

sucker, golden redhorse, suckermouth min-
now, black bullhead, black crappie, and
two species of darters. Species that disap-

peared in recent years (as pollution in-

creased) were the grass pickerel, tadpole

madtom, brook silverside, and bluegill.

The most notable examples of species ap-

pearing in the section for the first time

after 1900 were the carp, common shiner,

Table 25.—Number of fish per 100 square yards and number of species taken at sampling
stations above and below sewage disposal plant on the West Branch of the Salt Fork by Thomp-
son & Hunt and by Larimore & Smith. Presence of a species in very small numbers is indi-

cated by +.

Station in

Relation to
Disposal Plant

Thompson & Hunt

Number of

Fish per 100

Square Yards

Number of

Species

Larimore & Smith

Number of

Fish per 100

Square Yards

Number of

Species

7 miles above -.

4 miles above ...

1 mile above
1/2 mile above ..

114 miles below

2V4 miles below
4 miles below
6'/4 miles below.
12 miles below ..

150

167

67

332

2

14

7

30

397

10

10

11

11

3

2

15

510

230

675

37

+
1

6

13

10

9

1

2

1

Table 26.—Number and weight (pounds) of fish per 100 square yards, and average number
of species per station, collected in 1959 at various stations in two streams, one polluted (part of

West Branch and Salt Fork) and one unpolluted (part of East Branch and Salt Fork). Each
station is located with reference to stream size.



March, 1963 Larimore & Smith: Fishes of Champaign County 351

Table 27.—Number of species of fish collected at several stations above and below the
sewage disposal plant on the West Branch of the Salt Fork. The two pools immediately above
and below the mouth of the Boneyard were one-half mile above the disposal plant.

Date



352 Illinois Natural History Survky Bulletin Vol. 28. Art. 2

East Branch.—The East Branch of

the Salt Fork is polluted by the city of

Rantoul and by Chanute Air Force Base.

At the time of the Thompson (S: Hunt
survey, collections made near the outlet of

the Rantoul sewer ditch during warm
weather contained an abundance of fish of

12 species (mostly the creek chub and

silverjaw minnow; the stoneroller and

Johnny darter also were common). How-
ever, no fish were found at this location

during the cool periods of the year. The
location is presently polluted by effluent

from a disposal plant placed in operation

in 1954. In August, 1959, the stream be-

low the plant was foul and the bottom

was covered with sludge. It contained a

few fish that were seen but not identified.

The stream was revisited the following

May, at which time the white sucker,

stoneroller, silverjaw minnow, creek chub,

and sand shiner were taken.

The Chanute Air Force Base, in the

vicinity of Rantoul, operates three treat-

ment plants that pollute a small stream

flowing eastward from the southern edge

of the Base. A station on this small stream

contained an abundant population of 14

species at the time of the Thompson &
Hunt survey, but yielded only three creek

chubs and a carp when we collected there

in August of 1959. The following April,

when we revisited the site, it was devoid

of fish.

The influence of pollution on the East

Branch extends downstream several miles.

Two and one-half miles below the Ran-
toul disposal plant, the stream smelled foul

and contained other evidence of sewage in

October, 1959, when a collecting station

was set up there. A few specimens of the

creek chub, stoneroller, silverjaw minnow,
bluntnose minnow, sand shiner, and spot-

fin shiner were taken at this station. Two
miles below, in the mouth of a small creek

that flows from the air base into the East

Branch, fairly large numbers of fish were

taken during the same month. At this sec-

ond station, all of the species listed above

were collected and, in addition, the white

sucker, creek chubsucker, quillback, carp,

and redfin shiner. The fact that condi-

tions looked much better at the second sta-

tion than above, in either the main creek

or the small branch, suggested that the

organic waste, after it had been digested

and diluted, enriched the water to produce

a large fish population.

Lower Salt Fork. — Thompson &
Hunt considered the lower Salt Fork se-

verely affected by pollution as far down-
stream as the Homer Dam near the

county line; they collected only a small

variety of species and found low popula-

tions at the stations in this area. In 1959,

septic conditions occurred between St.

Joseph and Sidney; however, between Sid-

ney and the county line the stream ap-

peared clear of pollution, although the

water chemistry still reflected the up-

stream pollution, table 3. At five stations

from which we took quantitative fish

samples in this area, the populations were

slightly below the average for streams of

this size in the rest of the county, table 14.

Copper Slough, Phinney Branch.—
Both branches of the small stream drain-

ing the west edge of Champaign were

badly polluted in 1959. Copper Slough

received industrial and domestic waste.

It apparently was polluted in 1928, for

Thompson & Hunt found no fish at their

one station near Illinois State Route 10.

Only the blackstripe topminnow was taken

in Copper Slough in 1959.

In 1959, Phinney Branch received ef-

fluent from a small treatment plant lo-

cated on its bank immediately above its

confluence with Copper Slough. The ef-

fluent from this plant apparently pro-

hibited existence of fish in this stream,

although the pollution was probably less

severe in 1959 than' it was prior to the

installation of the plant in 1956. At the

junction of Phinney Branch and Copper

Slough, a large variety of fishes was col-

lected during the course of the 1959 sur-

vey. On February 27, 1960, no fish were

seen at the junction of these two streams;

perhaps the level of pollution from Cop-

per Slough and Phinney Branch was such

that it permitted the existence of fish in

the lower reaches only during certain

times of the year.

Upper Sangainon.— In 1959, pollu-

tion effluent from Gibson City flowed 6

miles south through Drummer Creek and

entered the upper Sangamon. Domestic

wastes from Gibson City and wastes from

a packing plant and from a soybean mill

caused fish kills in Drummer Creek and

the upper Sangamon almost annually dur-



March, 1963 Larimore & Smith: Fishes of Champaign County 353

ing recent decades. According to Thomp-
son & Hunt, wastes from a canning fac-

tory at Gibson City caused the fish kill

that they described. Such kills have ex-

tended downstream as far as Mahomet.
The threat of severe pollution was re-

duced, but not eliminated, by the recent

installation of a disposal plant at Gibson

City for the treatment of domestic wastes.

Upper Kaskaskia.—Alteration of the

natural water temperatures of a stream

may be considered a type of pollution.

West of Champaign, one-half mile south

of Illinois State Route 10, the U. S. In-

dustrial Chemical Company from time to

time pumps large volumes of water from
three wells into the Kaskaskia for use at

plants near Ficklin, 20 miles downstream.
The temperature of the well water is near

55 degrees F. On July 14, 1959, at 3:00

P.M., the stream temperature above these

wells was 91 degrees, at the wells 60 de-

grees, and the water temperature re-

mained subnormal for 5 miles below the

wells. On February 2, 1961, at 10:00
A.M., when all other streams in the

county were covered by heavy ice, the

Kaskaskia was open for 6 miles below the

wells. The water temperature was 51 de-

grees at the wells, 36.5 degrees 3.5 miles

downstream, and 32.5 degrees 6 miles be-

low the wells. Large aggregations of fish

and heavy algal blooms occurred in the

2 miles of stream below the wells. Be-

sides altering temperature and producing

a more constant flow seasonally, the wells

also reduced the sulfate, chloride, and
hardness (as CaCOa) of the water below
that of any other natural waters exam-
ined in the county, table 3. Although spe-

cies composition and the distribution of

fish aggregations could conceivably be al-

tered by the well water, no such evidence

was available from our collections.

Chemistry of Polluted Waters
Pollution may drastically change the

amount of dissolved chemicals in water.

Samples taken on the East Branch of the

Salt Fork north of St. Joseph, on the

West Branch east of Urbana, and on the

Salt Fork northwest of Homer, fig. 14, all

show the influence of domestic and com-
mercial wastes, table 3, and are character-

ized by high concentrations of ammonium,
nitrate, phosphate, chloride, total dis-

solved minerals, and alkyl benzene sul-

fonate. No consistent relationship seems to

exist between alkalinity or hardness and
the degree of pollution. The most strik-

ing difference between the chemistry of

the water in the East Branch, where a

greater than average fish population was
taken, and the chemistry of the water in

the West Branch, where very few fish

were taken, was in the level of phosphates

and sulfates present. The West Branch
contained nearly four times the concen-

tration of phosphates and twice the con-

centration of sulfates found in the East

Branch. Concentrations of phosphates in

the West Branch were presumably due to

the great amount of detergents that pass

through the treatment plant of the Ur-
bana-Champaign Sanitary District. Alkyl
benzene sulfonate, one of the basic in-

gredients in most household detergents,

was nearly twice as concentrated in the

West Branch as in the East Branch.

Fish Anomalies Caused by Pollution
Many malformed fishes were taken

from the West Branch of the Salt Fork
above the sanitary disposal plant. Al-

though fair numbers of individuals were
taken in these collections, table 25, the

fish were small in size and many of them
had abnormally small, upturned mouths;

certain fins were partially or entirely miss-

ing. The creek chub, bluntnose, and com-
mon shiner seemed to be especially af-

fected. They may be the only species that

can reproduce in the polluted water, and
hence, in their embr\onic development,

they may have been influenced by toxic

substances.

Fish Kills

Mention has been made of fish kills in

Champaign County. A kill of fish has

been observed annually for many years on

the upper Sangamon River. Dead fish have

been reported as far downstream as Ma-
homet. A severe kill occurred during the

middle of August in 1959 while we were
engaged in the third survey. Dead fish

were found in the upper Sangamon from
the mouth of Drummer Creek down-
stream as far as the town of Fisher. Along
the banks 3 miles north of Fisher, 21 spe-

cies were identified. Dead mussels, cray-

fish, tadpoles, and salamanders (Necturus)



354 Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin Vol. 28, Art. 2

also were found. The proportion of the

fish population killed by this pollutant was
not known. The dead fish picked up and

examined represented most of the species

previously taken in our collections. In

spite of the recurring kills, the disappear-

ance of only one species is attributed to

this pollution. A minnow (Notropis

amnis), taken at three stations in the

Sangamon near Fisher by Thompson &
Hunt, seemingly no longer occurs in the

county.

On the upper Kaskaskia, severe pollu-

tion introduced at a point just south of

Champaign County near Ficklin has pro-

duced chronic toxic conditions and fre-

quent fish kills. The Ficklin pollution

probably blocks the upstream movements
of certain species and thus influences the

composition of the populations within

Champaign County.

The East Branch has had several fish

kills in recent years other than those

caused by domestic pollution from Ran-
toul and Chanute Air Force Base. One
such kill was said to have been caused

by the accidental release of a large vol-

ume of gasoline into the stream. Another
kill resulted from discharge into the

stream of solutions used for cleaning air-

craft.

On the West Branch, an occasional

dead fish can be found, although so few
fish occur in the area below the disposal

plant that even if all were killed there

would not be a noticeable number of dead

individuals along the banks. Probably the

fish found dead were individuals that

moved into this area when water condi-

tions were temporarily tolerable and were
killed as conditions again became lethal.

In the lower Salt Fork, fish kills fre-

quently have occurred below St. Joseph.

These probably have been the result of

overenrichment of the waters, where near-

pollution conditions are usually present.

Summer fish kills seem to be associated

with periods of very low water levels and
high temperatures; during such periods

septic conditions develop. Often in the

wintertime, blooms of green plants and
animals develop that cause the death of

fish over a long stretch of the river. Very
heavy algal blooms developed during Feb-

ruary and March of 1954. An abnormally

low amount of suspended silt was in the

water when there developed a tremendous
green bloom composed mainly of Etiglena

sp. (similar to E. sanguinea) and a dia-

tom, Hantzschia airiphioxus (identification

by Dr. P. C. Silva, then Associate Pro-

fessor of Botany, University of Illinois).

The organisms settled to the bottom of

the stream each day after dark and
blanketed the bottom materials. Many fish

were seen gasping along the shoreline of

the river and in small tributary water

sources. Dead fish could be seen all along

the river from St. Joseph as far down-
stream as Fairmount in Vermilion Coun-
ty. These water conditions not only killed

many fish but caused the flesh of surviving

fish to be unpalatable.

Ingression Into Polluted Waters
During the spring and early summer of

1960, we made a series of seine hauls at

the West Branch stations sampled the

previous September. These seine hauls in-

dicated a certain amount of ingression of

fishes into polluted water, table 27. The
several species taken below the disposal

plant were represented by very few indi-

viduals. The creek chub, bluntnose min-

now, redfin shiner, and golden shiner

were the species most frequently taken in

these collections.

Reinvasion of a stream area by species

once present is usually very rapid (Lari-

more, Childers, & Heckrotte 1960:269);
if chemical conditions below the disposal

plant were made suitable for the existence

of fish, the population would quickly build

up to what might be expected in streams

of similar size.

Specific Tolerance to Pollution

The following species were most fre-

quently found in the polluted water areas

sampled in 1959: creek chub, carp, silver-

jaw minnow, bluntnose minnow, redfin

shiner, golden shiner, stoneroller, green

sunfish, sand shiner, common shiner, spot-

fin shiner, white sucker, creek chubsucker,

topminnow, Johnny darter, and hornyhead

chub. The finding of a particular species

in a polluted area did not necessarily mean

that this species was more pollution-tol-

erant than other species. Species found in

a polluted area may have been unusually

vagile, moving into the area during pe-

riods of improved water conditions ; equal-



March, 1963 Larimore & Smith: Fishes of Champaign County 355

ly pollution-tolerant species might have

been absent because they did not occur in

the drainage system, because suitable habi-

tat was not available, or because they were
more sedentary in habits. The above list

of pollution-tolerant species contains most
of the species listed as tolerant by Thomp-
son & Hunt.

DISTRIBUTION AND
WATER ENRICHMENT

Stream enrichment is a vaguely defined

condition in which some of the dissolved

chemical constituents of the water are

greater in amount than would normally

occur from contact with the soil in a par-

ticular drainage sj^stem or region. Enrich-

ment of a body of water should result

in greater productivity of aquatic organ-

isms. However, because aquatic organ-

isms have rather specific requirements, en-

richment may produce conditions inimical

to their very existence. Enrichment to

some organisms is pollution to others.

Champaign County streams are en-

riched by minerals leached from the soils

of the drainage area, by fertilizers added

to soils for increased crop production, by

wastes from livestock, and by domestic

sewage. Wastes from commercial opera-

tions could also contribute enriching ma-
trials, although no instance of such en-

richment is known to occur in this county.

Natural Soil Fertility

The soils of Champaign County are

unusually fertile and contribute dissolved

nutrients to the streams draining them.

The chemical composition of the waters,

table 3, has been discussed previously.

Thompson & Hunt assumed that the

size of a fish population was related to

soil fertility because they found the larg-

est concentration of fishes in the East

Branch of the Salt Fork River, which
flows through an area that they regarded

as more fertile than any other in the

county. Presently available information

on the soils of Champaign County does

not indicate that the streams in this

drainage flow through an area more fertile

than other drainage areas of the county.

At only three of our collecting stations on

the East Branch was the weight of fish per

100 square yards much greater than the

average for the county, tables 14 and 26.

Alkalinity and total hardness have often

been related to high productivity in nat-

ural waters. All of the streams in the

county are slightly alkaline and rather

hard. The water in one of the two main
streams in the East Branch drainage, the

Spoon River, is the hardest in the county
and one of the most alkaline, whereas
water in the other stream is the least

alkaline and near average in hardness,

table 3. Because of differences in chemical

composition of these streams, which pro-

duced several large fish collections and
were regarded by Thompson & Hunt as

especially fertile, it is difficult to relate

fish productivity to soil or water fertility.

The differences between these streams ap-

pear to be more the result of domestic

pollution than of soil characteristics in the

drainage area.

Fertilizers on the Watershed
Commercial fertilizers are used by

farmers on virtually all of the croplands

of Champaign County. The amount of

fertilizer that enters the streams is in-

fluenced by the natural soil chemistry, the

soil permeability, the land use, the kind

and amount of fertilizer applied, and
other factors that make an exact determi-

nation difficult.

Large amounts of organic fertilizer in

the form of livestock manure are applied

by farmers to most of the watersheds. The
droppings of grazing cattle and hogs are

deposited in pastures, often along stream

banks, and sometimes actually in the

streams. In some areas, manure contributes

substantially to the fertility of the streams.

An excess of fertilizer can cause fish mor-

tality during the hot summer months

when the water levels are unusually low,

but, in Champaign County, instances of

damage caused by excess amounts of live-

stock manure are probably rare. Damage
is done by livestock when the animals

break down stream banks, permitting ex-

cessive amounts of silt to enter water

courses.

Domestic Sewage
Domestic sewage can be related to

stream productivity in several places in

Champaign County. Thompson & Hunt
in 1928 found a fish population in the

East Branch apparently benefiting from



356 Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin Vol. 28. Art. 2

enrichment of stream water by the do-

mestic sewage of Rantoul. At that time,

Rantoul did not treat sewage but allowed

it to run through an open ditch where,

during warm weather, it was well di-

gested before entering the East Branch.

On revisiting the station during a cooler

part of the year, Thompson & Hunt
found that the raw sewage was not di-

gested in the open ditch but that it en-

tered the East Branch as toxic material

that eliminated fish for several miles

downstream.

At present, there is evidence of enrich-

ment of the East Branch by domestic

sewage from Rantoul and Chanute Air

Force Base. For several miles below the

outlets, this sewage is toxic to fish most

of the time. Farther downstream, large

populations of a wide variety of fishes

benefit from the end-products of the

sewage that has been digested upstream.

At one station with 41 square miles of

drainage, 7.2 miles below the Rantoul dis-

posal plant and approximately 2 miles be-

low the entrance of the badly polluted

stream from Chanute, the collection per

100 square yards amounted to 1,337 fish

weighing more than 9 pounds. At an-

other station with 73 square miles of

drainage, 4.5 miles farther downstream,

the collection per 100 square yards

amounted to 1,331 fish weighing more

than 10.5 pounds. These figures, three to

four times the county averages, table 14,

represented an area a few miles below

the badly polluted area in which very few
fish were found.

A fish population possibly benefiting

from stream enrichment was taken in the

upper Sangamon River about a mile be-

low the mouth of Drummer Creek,

which receives pollution from several

sources in Gibson City. In this popula-

tion, the numbers of individuals of the 22
species represented were low, but their

sizes were sufficiently large to make the

collection average 5.6 pounds per 100

square yards, a weight nearly twice that

for most other streams of this size (193
square miles of drainage) in the county,

table 14.

An instance that may be considered

partial enrichment was found west of

Champaign on Phinney Branch at the

junction of Copper Slough. The upper

regions of both Phinne\' Branch and Cop-
per Slough were polluted, but where they

converge 20 species were taken ; the col-

lection averaged 2.6 pounds per 100

square yards of drainage. Although 20 is

an unusually high number of species for

streams of this class (16 square miles of

drainage) in the county, the weight was
not much above average, table 14.

The Salt Fork from St. Joseph to the

county line was the longest stretch of

stream in the county enriched by up-

stream sewage. However, our collections

failed to indicate any desirable effects of

the enrichment.

Where fishes are benefiting from enrich-

ment of the water, they may be existing

under conditions that with very slight

changes in chemical balance and concen-

tration can quickly become toxic to them.

Our data show that when desirable en-

richment changes to undesirable pollution

the effects on a fish population are first a

reduction in the number of species, then a

reduction in the total weight, and finally

a reduction in the number of individ-

uals.

FISHERIES
The network of streams and a scatter-

ing of artificial ponds and lakes provide

a considerable amount of fishing water in

Champaign County. All of the streams,

except the Little Vermilion and Embar-
rass, are listed in the Game and Fish

Codes as fish preserves; that is, fishing is

lestricted to hook-and-line methods, or to

minnow seining and spearing as provided

by the Game and Fish Codes. Public ac-

cess to most of the streams is provided by

the system of section-line roads, and fish-

ing is generally heaviest near bridges.

All the waters as well as the stream banks

are privately owned; fishermen must ob-

tain landowners' consent to enter the

property.

Sport Fishing
Approximately 20 of the 90 species in

the annotated list of the fishes of Cham-
paign County are commonly taken by

hook-and-line fishing. However, Dr. Mar-
cus S. Goldman has caught 38 species.

The 189 miles we have classed as Rivulets

and Small Creeks provide satisfactory

angling only for small boys in quest of



March, 1963 Larimore & Smith: Fishes of Champaign County 357

chubs, sunfishes, or bullheads. The 176
miles of Large Creeks provide good fishing

for anglers interested in catching chubs,

sunfishes, bullheads, and, in the spring, a

variety of suckers. The 58 miles of Small
Rivers produce large numbers of suckers,

sunfishes, bass, carp, and catfishes. The
lower Sangamon River is an especially

good fishing area for channel catfish, suck-

ers, and carp, and, according to Dr. Gold-
man, offers a better opportunity for an-

gling than any other stream in the county.
The lower Salt Fork is good for suckers

and carp; channel catfish become impor-
tant a few miles before the stream leaves

the county. The Middle Fork in Cham-
paign County produces three species of

bass and the channel catfish.

Creek chubs, hornyhead chubs, black

bullheads, yellow bullheads, several sun-

fishes, and many species of suckers can be

taken in most streams of the county. The
most commonly used baits are worms,
minnows, crayfish, and especially prepared
cheese baits, blood baits, and doughballs

;

relatively little casting is done with arti-

ficial lures.

Approximately 125 ponds and small

lakes provide angling. These waters are

formed by artificial dams and by flooded

gravel and borrow pits. Most of the ponds
are privately owned.
The fishes commonly found in these

ponds are the bluegill, green sunfish, red-

ear sunfish, orangespotted sunfish, war-
mouth, black crappie, white crappie, large-

mouth bass, black bullhead, yellow bull-

head, channel catfish, golden shiner, and
bluntnose minnow.

Commercialized Sport Fishing
Three privately owned lakes in Cham-

paign County have been licensed to oper-

ate as daily fee-fishing ponds. Great
numbers of fish are purchased from com-
mercial fishermen and fish dealers along
the Mississippi and Illinois rivers, on
some northern lakes, and even on Lake
Erie as far east as Ohio. These fish are

hauled alive by truck and released in the

fishing ponds at intervals during the fish-

ing season. Anglers pay a daily fee to

fish. Because the fish are of many spe-

cies and because some are brought from
distant waters, the ponds are potential

sources of species new to the streams of

the county. The following species have
been taken from Champaign County fee-

fishing ponds: bowfin, bluegill, green sun-
fish, white crappie, yellow bass, carp,
channel catfish, brown bullhead, yellow
bullhead, black bullhead, largemouth bass,

quillback, gizzard shad, goldfish, and a
few minnows that probably were not de-
liberately introduced by the pond owners.

Bait Collecting
Large numbers of minnows suitable for

fish bait may be taken from many reaches
of Champaign County streams. Crayfish
also are taken from the streams.

Although in 1959 there were no li-

censed wholesale minnow dealers in Cham-
paign County, there were eight retail

minnow dealers who sold minnows to

sport fishermen. Their minnow supplies

were either purchased from sources out-
side the county or were seined by the deal-

ers themselves from local streams. Because
of the great labor and cost involved in pro-

curing a sufficient number of minnows
from local streams, most dealers found
it more economical to purchase stocks

from wholesale dealers.

Many fishermen take relatively small

numbers of minnows for their own use.

They may take bait from the streams with-

out a commercial fishing license in seines

not larger than 6 feet deep and 20 feet

long and having a mesh of one-half inch

or less. Many fishermen have favorite

minnow "holes" where they can seine

enough minnows for a 1-day fishing trip.

Such small-scale bait collecting is a jus-

tifiable use of minnows and does not en-

danger the natural populations.

SUMMARY
1. Two investigations of fishes in the

streams of Champaign County, Illinois, in-

vestigations approximately 30 years apart

(modal years 1899 and 1928), provided

an incentive for a third investigation, in

1959, aimed at evaluating the effects of

ecological changes that occurred over a

period of approximately 60 years in an

area that included both intensive farming

and urbanization.

2. In less than a century, most of

Champaign County was converted from
marshy prairie to well-drained farmland.

In recent years, population growth and



358 Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin Vol. 28, Art. 2

industrial development have usurped a

considerable acreaj^e of the farmland.

3. Draining! and dredjjinji reduced the

water-holding capacity of the watersheds,

resultinjT in a lower water table and in

extreme fluctuations in stream flow. Can-

alization altered stream courses and habi-

tats and produced more uniformity in

stream environments.

4. Late in the nineteenth century, most

of the marshes and natural ponds were

eliminated ; many drainage ditches were

created. During the 30 years ending in

1959, the environmental trends in the

streams were toward a decrease in depth

and an increase in width ; a decrease in

gravel substrate, an increase in silt, and an

increase in sand ; a decrease in aquatic

vegetation and an increase in overhanging

vegetation.

5. Ninety species of fishes were in-

cluded in the annotated list for Cham-
paign County; 74 of these were taken in

1959 or subsequently. Seven of the 90

were introduced species; the remaining

83, some of them no longer in the county,

were native.

6. Sixteen species, the introductions ex-

cluded, showed a decided increase in occur-

rence (number of collecting stations and

number of stream systems in which they

were found) within the county during

the 60-year period of study; 15 other

species showed a decided decrease in occur-

rence. Many species showed little change

in occurrence, despite the great changes

that took place in the stream habitats.

7. During the early part of the present

century, the Salt Fork drainage contained

a greater number of species than any other

drainage in Champaign County ; it was
followed by the Sangamon, Middle Fork,

Kaskaskia, and Embarrass. Subsequently,

the Salt Fork and Sangamon exchanged

rank. In 1959, the Sangamon contained

the greatest number of species restricted

to one drainage; the Embarrass had no

species that occurred in that stream ex-

clusively.

8. Much greater changes in species

composition occurred in Champaign
County streams during the first 30 years

of the twentieth century than during

the second 30 years. During the first 30-

year period, the greatest changes occur-

red in the Middle Fork and Sangamon

drainages; during the second 30-year

period, the greatest changes occurred in

the Kaskaskia and Salt Fork drainages.

9. Champaign County streams were
classified as rivulets and small creeks,

large creeks, and small rivers. Both large

creeks and small rivers contained the fol-

lowing habitats: sand and fine gravel rif-

fles; gravel and boulder or rubble riffles;

shallow, firm-bottomed pools; and deep,

mud-bottomed pools. Each habitat was
found to have characteristic species of

fishes.

10. Each factor in the habitat of a

species was expressed mathematically by

correlating the numbers and weights of

each species taken in quantitative samples

with the numerical value for each of 13

different ecological factors.

11. Significant degrees of association,

some of which were unexpected, were

found between the numerical abundance

of Notropis dorsalis and Ericymba buc-

cata, Notropis chrysocephalus and Erimy-

zon ohlongiis, and Catostomus commer-

soni and Phenacobius mirabilis. Less signi-

ficant associations were found between

each of these species and several other

species and between a few other pairs

of species. A mutual dependence upon

certain ecological conditions, rather than

a direct interdependence between species,

appeared to account for the associations

found in Champaign County.

12. The average number of species per

collecting station and the average number

of fish per 100 square' yards of water were

somewhat greater in 1959 than in 1928.

The most pronounced differences in the

number of fish per unit area occurred in

the Middle Fork drainage (high in 1928,

low in 1959) and the Embarrass (low in

1928, high in 1959). The number of

pounds of fish per acre of water was

found to be 124.4 in 1959; it had been

estimated by Thompson & Hunt to be

150 in 1928. The number of pounds

of fish per 100 square yards of water in

1959 averaged 2.6, ranging from 0.9 in

the Kaskaskia to 5.1 in the Middle Fork

drainage.

13. The following generalizations be-

tween fish distribution and stream size, as

postulated by Thompson & Hunt (1930)

following the 1928 investigation, were in

general borne out in the 1959 study: the

I



March, 1963 Larimore & Smith: Fishes of Champaign County 359

number of species per station increased

downstream ; the actual number of fish

per unit area decreased downstream ; and,

with a decrease in the number of individ-

uals downstream, there was a correspond-

ing increase in their average size, so that

the total amount of fish flesh per unit

area was nearly constant. Thompson &
Hunt's statement that fishes exhibit fre-

quencies of occurrence that vary with

stream size in a consistent and definite

manner for each species was not substanti-

ated with the 1959 data. Their hypothesis

that the amount of fish flesh per unit of

water was directly related to fertility of

the water was neither confirmed nor dis-

proved by the 1959 data, probably because

all streams of the county were of nearly

equal fertility.

14. The degree of stream pollution in

Champaign County was greater in 1928

than in 1899, and greater in 1959 than in

1928. Although certain types of pollutants

common in 1899 and 1928 no longer ex-

isted in 1959, other types had replaced

them. The large and increasing volume of

treated effluents limited aquatic life in

many areas of Champaign County streams

at the time of the third survey. Pollution

had caused a decline, even elimination, of

fish in some reaches.

15. In 1959, chronic pollution in

Champaign County was found to occur
in the Boneyard, parts of the East Branch
and West Branch of the Salt Fork, the

lower Salt Fork, Copper Slough and
Phinney Branch, the upper Sangamon, and
the upper Kaskaskia. Some of these areas

had been polluted for many years; others

had recently become polluted.

16. Champaign County streams are en-

riched by natural soil fertility and a vari-

ety of introduced substances. Evidence

was found in 1959 that certain fish popu-
lations were benefiting from enrichment.

Slight changes in chemical balance and
concentration may quickly convert en-

riched areas to polluted ones.

17. Champaign County contains a con-

siderable amount of water useful for fish-

ing. In addition to the streams, there are

farm ponds, artificial lakes, and fee-fish-

ing ponds available. Public access to the

fishing sites is generally adequate, al-

though streams are privately owned and
landowners' permission must be obtained.

Approximately 20 of the 90 species of fish

known in the county are commonly taken

by angling. Noncommercial minnow sein-

ing for bait is a justifiable use of the local

fauna and does not jeopardize local min-

now populations.



LITERATURE CITED

Anonymous
1876. Atlas of the State of Illinois, to which are added various general maps, history, sta-

tistics and illustrations. Union Atlas Co., Chicago. 293 pp.

Raker, Frank Collins

1922. The molluscan fauna of the Big Vermilion River, Illinois, with special reference to

its modification as a result of pollution by sewage and manufacturing wastes. III.

Biol. Monog. 7(2) : 105-224 + 15 pis.

Changnon, S. A., Jr.

1959. Summarv of weather conditions at Champaign-Urbana, Illinois. III. State Water
Surv. Bui. 47: 1-95.

Fehrenbacher, J. B.

1963. The soil. Pp. 36^3 in The natural resources of Champaign County. 2nd ed., re-

vised. Champaign County Conservation Education Council, Urbana, Illinois. 59 pp.

Forbes, S. A.
1907. On the local distribution of certain Illinois fishes: an essay in statistical ecology. 111.

Lab. \at. Hist. Bui. 7(8) :273-303 + 15 maps + pls. xxix-xxxii.

Forbes, Stephen Alfred, and Robert Earl Richardson
[1908.] The fishes of Illinois. Illinois State Laboratory of Natural History, [Urbana].

cxxxi + 357 pp. + separate atlas containing 102 maps.

Hopkins, Cyril G., J. G. Mosier, E. Van Alstine, and F. W. Garrett
1918. Champaign County Soils. 111. Ag. Exp. Sta. Soil Rep. 18. 61 pp.

Large, Thomas
[1903.] A list of the native fishes of Illinois, with keys. Append, to 111. Fish Commrs. Rep.

1900-1902. 30 pp.

Larimore, R. Weldon
1961. Fish population and electrofishing success in a warm-water stream. Jour. Wildlife

Mgt. 25(1 ) :1-12.

Larimore, R. Weldon, William F. Childers, and Carlton Heckrotte
1959. Destruction and re-establishment of stream fish and invertebrates adected by drought.

Am. Fish Soc. Trans. 88(4) :261-85.

Larimore, R. Weldon, Leonard Durham, and George W. Bennett
1950. A modification of the electric fish shocker for lake work. Jour. Wildlife Mgt. 14(3):

320-3.

Luce. Wilbur M.
1933. A survey of the fishery of the Kaskaskia River. 111. Nat. Hist. Surv. Bui. 20(2) :71-123.

O'Donnell, D. John
1935. Annotated list of the fishes of Illinois. 111. Nat. Hist. Surv. Bui. 20(5) : 473-500.

Shelford, Victor E.
1911. Ecological succession. I. Stream fishes and the method of physiographic analysis.

Biol. Bui. 21(1) :9-35.

Thompson, David H., and Francis D. Hunt
1930. The fishes of Champaign County: a study of the distribution and abundance of fishes

in small streams. 111. Nat. Hist. Surv. Bui. 19(1):1-101.

Trautman, Milton B.

1957. The fishes of Ohio. Ohio State University Press, Columbus, xvii + 683 pp.

United States Geological Survey
1953- Surface water supply of the United States [each title includes the date for which data
1960. are given]. Part 5. Hudson Bav and upper Mississippi River basins. CJeol. Surv.

Water-supply Paper 1208. 1238, 1278, 1338, 1388, 1438, 1508. 1558.

1954— Surface water supply of the United States [each title includes the date for which data

1959. are given]. Part 3-A. Ohio River bas n except Cumberland and Tennessee River
basins. Cieol. Surv. Water-Supply Paper 1205. 1235. 1275, 1335, 1385. 1435, and 1505.

1957. Compilation of records of surface waters of the United States through September
1950. Part 3-A. Ohio River basin except Cumberland and Tennessee River basins.

Geol. Surv. Water-Supply Paper 1350.

1959. Compilation of records of surface waters of the United States through September
1950. Part 5. Hudson Bay and upper Mississippi River basins. Geol. Surv. Water-
Supply Paper 1308.

[360]



SPECIES DISTRIBUTION MAPS



362 Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin Vol. 28, Art. 2

Fig. 15.

—

Dorosoma cepedianum. Fig. 16.

—

Esox am ericanus.

Fig. 17.

—

Carpiodes cyprinus. Fig. 18.

—

Carpiodes 'velifer.

Distribution of Champaign County fishes as determined by three surveys at approximately 30-

year intervals.

Open triangle: collecting station of Forbes & Richardson; indicated species not collected.
Solid triangle: collecting station of Forbes & Richardson; indicated species collected.
Small open circle alone: collecting station of Thompson & Hunt and also, if extant in 1959, col-

lecting station of Larimore & Smith; indicated species not collected at this station.
Large open circle enclosing small open circle or solid circle: collecting station at which Thompson

& Hunt took indicated species.

Solid circle alone or within large circle: collecting station at which Larimore & Smith took indi-

cated species. Most of these stations had previously been sampled by Thompson & Hunt.



March, 1963 Larimore & Smith: Fishes of Champaign County 363

Fig. 19.

—

Catostomus commersoni. Fig. 20.

—

Erimyzon oblongus.

Fig, 21.

—

Hypentelium nigricans. Fig. 22.

—

Minytrema melanops.

Distribution of Champaign County fishes as determined by three surveys at approximately 30-

year intervals.

Open triangle: collecting station of Forbes & Richardson; indicated species not collected.

Solid triangle: collecting station of Forbes & Richardson; indicated species collected.

Small open circle alone: collecting station of Thompson & Hunt and also, if extant in 1959, col-

lecting station of Larimore & Smith ; indicated species not collected at this station.

Large open circle enclosing small open circle or solid circle: collecting station at which Thompson
& Hunt took indicated species.

Solid circle alone or within large circle: collecting station at which Larimore & Smith took indi-

cated species. Most of these stations had previously been sampled by Thompson & Hunt.



364 Illinois Naturai, History Survey Bulletin Vol. 28, Art. 2

Fig. 23.

—

Moxostoma crythrttrum. Fig. 24.

—

Moxostoma macrolepidotum.

Fig. 25.—Campostoma anomahim. Fig. 26.

—

Cyprintis carpio.

Distribution of Champaign County fishes as determined by three surveys at approximately 30-

year intervals.

Open triangle: collecting station of Forbes & Richardson; indicated species not collected.

Solid triangle: collecting station of Forbes & Richardson; indicated species collected.

Small open circle alone: collecting station of Thompson & Hunt and also, if extant in 1959, col-

lecting station of Larimore & Smith ; indicated species not collected at this station.

Large open circle enclosing small open circle or solid circle: collecting station at which Thompson
& Hunt took indicated species.

Solid circle alone or within large circle: collecting station at which Larimore & Smith took indi-

cated species. Most of these stations had previously been sampled by Thompson & Hunt.

1



March, 1963 Larimore & Smith: Fishes of Champaign County 365

Fig. 27.

—

Ericymha huccata. Fig. 28.

—

Hybot/nathus niiihalis.

Fig. 29.

—

Hybopsis biguttaia. Fig. 30.

—

Notem'ujonus crysolcucas.

Distribution of Champaign County fishes as determined by three surveys at approximately 30-

year intervals.

Open triangle: collecting station of Forbes & Richardson; indicated species not collected.

Solid triangle: collecting station of Forbes & Richardson; indicated species collected.

Small open circle alone: collecting station of Thompson & Hunt and also, if extant in 1959, col-

lecting station of Larimore & Smith; indicated species not collected at this station.

Large open circle enclosing small open circle or solid circle: collecting station at which Thompson
& Hunt took indicated species.

Solid circle alone or within large circle: collecting station at which Larimore k Smith took indi-

cated species. Most of these stations had previously been sampled by Thompson & Hunt.



366 Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin Vol. 28, Art. 2

Fig. 31.

—

Noiropis chrysocephalus. Fig. 32.

—

Notropis dorsalis.

Fig. 33.

—

Notropis lutrensis. Fig. 34.

—

Notropis rubelliis.

Distribution of Champaign County fishes as determined by three surveys at approximately 30-

year intervals.

Open triangle: collecting station of Forbes & Richardson; indicated species not collected.

Solid triangle: collecting station of Forbes & Richardson; indicated species collected.

Small open circle alone: collecting station of Thompson & Hunt and also, if extant in 1959, col-

lecting station of Larimore & Smith; indicated species not collected at this station.

Large open circle enclosing small open circle or solid circle: collecting station at which Thompson

& Hunt took indicated species.
.

r

• j-

Solid circle alone or within large circle: collecting station at which Larimore & Smith took indi-

cated species. Most of these stations had previously been sampled by Thompson & Hunt.



March, 1963 Larimore & Smith: Fishes of Champaign County 367

Fig. 35.

—

Notropis spilopterus. Fig. 36.

—

Notropis stramineus.

Fig. 37.

—

Notropis umbratilis. Fig. 38.

—

Notropis luhipplei.

Distribution of Champaign County fishes as determined by three surveys at approximately 30-

year intervals.

Open triangle: collecting station of Forbes & Richardson; indicated species not collected.

Solid triangle: collecting station of Forbes & Richardson; indicated species collected.

Small open circle alone: collecting station of Thompson & Hunt and also, if extant in 1959, col-

lecting station of Larimore & Smith; indicated species not collected at this station.

Large open circle enclosing small open circle or solid circle: collecting station at which Thompson
& Hunt took indicated species.

Solid circle alone or within large circle: collecting station at which Larimore & Smith took indi-

cated species. Most of these stations had previously been sampled by Thompson & Hunt.



368 Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin Vol. 28. Art. 2

Fig. 39.

—

Plienacobius mlrabUis. Fig. 40.

—

Pimcphales notatus.

Fig. 41.

—

Pimephales promelas. Fig. 42.

—

Scmotilus atromaculatus.

Distribution of Champaign County fishes as determined by three surveys at approximately 30-

year intervals.

Open triangle: collecting station of Forbes & Richardson; indicated species not collected.

Solid triangle: collecting station of Forbes & Richardson; indicated species collected.

Small open circle alone: collecting station of Thompson & Hunt and also, if extant in 1959, col-j

lecting station of Larimore & Smith ; indicated species not collected at this station.

Large open circle enclosing small open circle or solid circle: collecting station at which Thompson
& Hunt took indicated species.

Solid circle alone or within large circle: collecting station at which Larimore & Smith took indi^

cated species. Most of these stations had previously been sampled by Thompson & Hunt.



March, 1963 Larimore & Smith: Fishes of Champaign County 369

Fig. 43.

—

Ictahirus mclas Fig. 44.

—

Ictalurus natalis.

Fig. 45.

—

Ictalitnis punctattts. Fig. 46.

—

Noturus flavus.

Distribution of Champaign County fishes as determined by three surveys at approximately 30-

year intervals.

Open triangle: collecting station of Forbes & Richardson; indicated species not collected.

Solid triangle: collecting station of Forbes & Richardson; indicated species collected.

Small open circle alone: collecting station of Thompson & Hunt and also, if extant in 1959, col-

lecting station of Larimore & Smith; indicated species not collected at this station.

Large open circle enclosing small open circle or solid circle: collecting station at which Thompson
& Hunt took indicated species.

Solid circle alone or within large circle: collecting station at which Larimore k Smith took indi-

cated species. Most of these stations had previously been sampled by Thompson & Hunt.



370 Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin Vol. 28, Art. 2

Fig. 47.

—

Noturus gyrinus. Fig. 48.

—

Noturus miiirus.

Fig. 49.

—

Fundulus notatus. Fig. 50.

—

Labidesthes sicculus.

Distribution of Champaign County fishes as determined by three surveys at approximately 30-

year intervals.

Open triangle: collecting station of Forbes & Richardson; indicated species not collected.

Solid triangle: collecting station of Forbes & Richardson; indicated species collected.

Small open circle alone: collecting station of Thompson & Hunt and also, if extant in 1959, col-

lecting station of Larimore & Smith ; indicated species not collected at this station.

Large open circle enclosing small open circle or solid circle: collecting station at which Thompson
& Hunt took indicated species.

Solid circle alone or within large circle: collecting station at which Larimore & Smith took indi-

cated species. Most of these stations had previously been sampled by Thompson & Hunt.



March, 1963 Larimore & Smith: Fishes of Champaign County 371

Fig. 51.

—

Aphredoderus sayanus. Fig. 52.

—

Amblopliies rupestris.

Fig. 53.

—

Lepomis cyanellus. Fig. 54.

—

Lepomis humilis.

Distribution of Champaign County fishes as determined by three surveys at approximately 30-

year intervals. . n j

Open triangle: collecting station of Forbes & Richardson; indicated species not collected.

Solid triangle: collecting station of Forbes & Richardson; indicated species collected.

Small open circle alone: collecting station of Thompson & Hunt and also, if extant in 1959, col-

lecting station of Larimore & Smith ; indicated species not collected at this statioir.

Large open circle enclosing small open circle or solid circle: collecting station at which Thompson

& Hunt took indicated species.
. .

, t » c • u t
• r

Solid circle alone or within large circle: collecting station at which Larimore & Smith took indi-

cated species. Most of these stations had previously been sampled by Thompson & Hunt.



372 Illinois Natural History Survkv Hlli.i.tin Vol. 28, Art. 2

Fig. 55.

—

Lrpomis macroc/iirus. Fig. 56.

—

Lepom'is megalotis.

Fig. 57.

—

Micropterus dolomicul. Fig. 58.

—

Micropterus punctulatus.

Distribution of Champaign County fishes as determined by three surveys at approximately 30-

year intervals. j
Open triangle: collecting station of Forbes & Richardson; indicated species not collected. 9
Solid triangle: collecting station of Forbes & Richardson; indicated species collected.

Small open circle alone: collecting station of Thompson & Hunt and also, if extant in 1959, col-

lecting station of Larimore ct Smith; indicated species not collected at this station.

Large open circle enclosing small open circle or solid circle: collecting station at which Thompson
& Hunt took indicated species.

Solid circle alone or within large circle: collecting station at which Larimore & Smith took indi-

cated species. Most of these stations had previously been sampled by Thompson & Hunt.



March, 1963 Larimore & Smith: Fishes of Champaign County 373

Fig. 59.

—

Micro ptcrus salmoides.

-? r

Fig. 60.

—

Pomoxis annularis.

Fig. 61.

—

Ammocrypta pellucida. Fig. 62.

—

Etkeostoma blennioides.

Distribution of Champaign County fishes as determined by three surveys at approximately 30-

year intervals.

Open triangle: collecting station of Forbes & Richardson; indicated species not collected.

Solid triangle: collecting station of Forbes & Richardson; indicated species collected.

Small open circle alone: collecting station of Thompson & Hunt and also, if extant in 1959, col-

lecting station of Larimore & Smith; indicated species not collected at this station.

Large open circle enclosing small open circle or solid circle: collecting station at which Thompson

& Hunt took indicated species.

Solid circle alone or withm large circle: collecting station at which Larimore & Smith took indi-

cated species. Most of these stations had previously been sampled by Thompson & Hunt.



374 Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin V^ol. 28, Art. 2

Fig. 63.

—

Etheostoma flabellare. Fig. 64.

—

Etheostoma nigrum.

Fig. 65.

—

Etheostoma spectabile. Fig. 66.

—

Etheostoma zonale.

Distribution of Champaign County fishes as determined by three surveys at approximately 30-

year intervals.

Open triangle: collecting station of Forbes & Richardson; indicated species not collected.

Solid triangle: collecting station of Forbes & Richardson; indicated species collected.

Small open circle alone: collecting station of Thompson & Hunt and also, if extant in 1959, col-

lecting station of Larimore k Smith; indicated species not collected at this station.

Large open circle enclosing small open circle or solid circle: collecting station at which Thompson
& Hunt took indicated species.

Solid circle alone or within large circle: collecting station at which Larimore & Smith took indi-

cated species. Most of these stations had previously been sampled by Thompson & Hunt.



March, 1963 Larimore & Smith: Fishes of Champaign County 375

Fig. 67.

—

Percina caprodes. Fig. 68.

—

Percina maculata.

?—T'Sr

Fig. 69.

—

Percina phoxocephala. Fig. 70.

—

Aplodinotus grunniens.

Distribution of Champaign County fishes as determined by three surveys at approximately 30-

year intervals.

Open triangle: collecting station of Forbes & Richardson; indicated species not collected.

Solid triangle: collecting station of Forbes & Richardson; indicated species collected.

Small open circle alone: collecting station of Thompson & Hunt and also, if extant in 1959, col-

lecting station of Larimore & Smith; indicated species not collected at this station.

Large open circle enclosing small open circle or solid circle: collecting station at which Thompson
& Hunt took indicated species.

Solid circle alone or within large circle: collecting station at which Larimore & Smith took indi-

cated species. Most of these stations had previously been sampled by Thompson & Hunt.



INDEX
The scientific names of fishes indexed below include currently valid names, variant spell-

ings, and synonymic names and combinations. Generic names, when they stand alone in the

text,' have not been indexed. Thus, Carpiodes spp. is not included in the index, but a text refer-

ence to any one of the species of Carpiodes is mcluded. For convenience in indexing, specific

and subspecific names are given equal rank. Thus, the subspecies Notropis spiloptcrus hypsiso-

matus is indexed as Notropis hypsisomatus and /lypsisomatus, Notropis, and the subspecies

A', s. spiloptcrus as Notropis spilopterus and spiloptcrus, Notropis. The common names used

are those recommended by the Committee on Names of Fishes, American Fisheries Society.

Common names used in a generic sense in the text (basses, sunfishes, catfish) have not been

indexed. Common names for species have been indexed; common names for subspecies have not

been indexed, as subspecies do not have officially recommended common names. Scientific names

other than those of fish have not been inverted ; for example, Rorippa islandica is listed but not

islandica, Rorippa.

Abramis crysolcucas, 323

aestivalis, Hyhopsis, 320, 322, 328, 329, 330,

332, 333

affinis, Gamhusia, 325, 327, 330

Agricultural practices, 306, 307; sec also

Draining (drainage). Dredging
Algae (algal blooms), 315, 347, 353, 354

alosoides, Hiodon, 321, 329

Ambloplites rupcstris, 325, 329, 332, 333, 336,

344, 346, 371

amblops, Hybopsis, 322, 327, 328, 330, 332, 333

Ameiurus
melas, 324
natalis, 324

American eel, 325

American elm, 313

americanus, Esox, 321, 327, 328, 332, 333, 336,

337, 345, 362

Amia calva, 321, 327, 330

Ammocrypta pcllucida. 326, 329, 336, 337, 373

amnis. Notropis, 323, 329, 330, 333, 354

Anguilla
chrysypa, 325

rostrata, 325, 329

anisurum, Moxostoma, 322, 329, 332, 336, 343

Annotated list of fishes, 320-7

annularis, Pomoxis, 326, 329, 336, 344, 373

anomalum, Campostoma, 322, 328, 332, 333, 335,

343, 345, 346, 364

Aphredoderus sayanus, 325, 329, 336, 337, 345,

371

Aplodinotus grunniens, 327. 329, 330. 336, 375

Asclepias incarnata, 313

asprigene, Etheostoma, 326, 329, 331

aspro, Hadroptcrus, 327

atherinoides, Notropis, 323, 328, 329, 331, 332

atripcs, Notropis, 323

atrocaudalis, Notropis, 323

atromacidatus, Semotilus, 324, 327, 328, 330, 331,

332, 335, 344, 345, 368

auratus, Carassius, 322, 327, 330

aureoliim, Moxostoma, 322

B
Banded darter, 327

Bass
largemouth, 326

rock, 325

smallmouth, 326

spotted, 326

yellow, 325, 357

Bigeye chub, i22

Bigeye shiner, 323

Bigmouth buttalo, 322

Bigmouth shiner, 323

higuttata, Hybopsis, 322, 328, 332, 333, 335, 338,

339, 344, 345, 365

Black buffalo, 322

Black bullhead, 324, 34C, 350, 357

Black crappie, 326, 347, 350, 357

Blacknose shiner, 323

Blackside darter, 327

Blackstripe topminnow, 325, 352, 354

blcnnioides, Diplesion, 326

blennioides, Etheostoma, 326, 327, 329, 335, 336,

345, 373

blennius, Notropis, 323, 324, 329

Bluegill, 325, 347, 350, 357

Bluntnose darter, 326

Bluntnose minnow, 324, 347, 352, 353, 354, 357

Boleichthys fusiformis, 326

Boleosoma
camurum, 326

nigrum, 326

Boneyard (creek), 309-10, 347, 348, 349, 351,

359
hoops, Notropis, 323, 328, 330, 332, 333

Bowfin, 321, 357

breviceps, Moxostoma, 322

Brindled madtom, 324

Brook silverside, 325, 350

Brown bullhead, 324, 357

bubalus, Ictiohus, 322, 328, 329, 330, 332, 333

buccata, Ericymba, 111, 111, 328, 330, 335, 337,

338, 344, 345, 358, 365

Buffalo

bigmouth, 322

black, 322

smallmouth, 322

Bullhead
black, 324, 348, 350, 357

brown, 324, 357

yellow, 324, 347, 357

Bullhead minnow, 324

Buttonbush, 313

caeruleum, Etheostoma, 326, 329, 335, 345

calva, Amia, 321, 327, 330

[376]



March, 1963 Larimore & Smith: Fishes of Champaign County 377

Campostoma
anomahtm, 322, 328, 332, 333, 335, 343, 345,

346, 364
pidlum, 111

camiirum, Boleosoma, 326

camurum, Etheostoma, 320

canadense, Stizostcdion, 320

caprodes, Pcrcina, 327, 328, 329, 336, 345, 375

caprodes X semifasciata, Perc'tna, 327

Carassiiis auratus, 'ill, 111 , 330

Carex cristatrlla, 313

carinatum, Moxostoma, 320

Carp, 316, 322, 344, 347, 350, 351, 352, 354, 357

carpio, Carpiodes, 320

carpio, Cyprinus, 111, 327, 328, 331, 332, 336,

344, 345, 346, 364
Carpiodes

carpio, 320
cyprinus, 111, 328, 330, 336, 343, 362

difformis, 321

/linci, 111

velifer, 321, 328, 330, 336, 343, 362

Carpsucker
highfin, 321

quillback, 321

Catfish

channel, 324, 357

flathead, 324
Catostomiis

commersoni, 321, 327, 328, 335, 338, 343, 345,

358, 363

nigricans, 111

cayitga, Notropis, 323

ccpcdianum, Dornsoma, 111, 328, 330, 336, 345,

362

Chaenobryttus ffulosus, 325, 329, 332
Channel catfish, 324, 357
Chara sp., 313

Chemistry of polluted waters, 353 ; see also

Water chemistry and Pollution (pollu-

tants)

chlorosomum, Etheostoma, 326, 329, 330, 332,

333

chrysocephalus, Notropis, 323, 328, 332, 333,

335, 338, 339, 343, 345, 358, 366

chrysypa, Anguilla, 325
Chub

bigeve, 322
creek, 324, 336, 337, 347, 351, 352, 353, 354,

357

hornyhead, 322, 347, 351, 354, 357
silver, 322

speckled, 322
Chubsucker, creek, 321, 347, 352, 354
claviformis, Erimyzon, 321

Cliola vigilax, 324
coeruleum, Etheostoma, 326, 329
commersoni, Catostomus, 111, 1,11 , 328, 335, 338,

343, 345, 358, 363
Common shiner, 323, 347, 350, 353, 354
Copper Slough, 349, 352, 356, 359
cornutiis, Notropis, 323
Cottonwood, 313

Crappie
black, 326, 347, 350, 357
white, 326, 357

Creek chub, 324, 336, 337, 347, 351, 352, 353,

354, 357
Creek chubsucker, 321, 347, 352, 354
crysoleucas, Ahramis, 323

crysoleucas, Notemigonus, 323, 327, 328, 336,
338, 344, 365

cyanellus, Lepomis, 325, 328, 329, 335, 336, 344,
345, 371

cyanocephalus, Notropis, 323
cyprinellus, Ictiohiis, ill, 329, 330, 333
Cyprinus carpio, 322, 327, 328, 331, 332, 336,

344, 345, 346, 364
cyprinus, Carpiodes, 111, 328, 330, 336, 343,

362

D
Darter
banded, 327
blackside, 327
bluntnose, 326
dusky, 327
eastern sand, 326
fantail, 326

greenside, 326

Johnny, 326, 347, 348, 352, 354
mud, 326

orangethroat, 326
rainbow, 326
slenderhead, 327
slough, 326

Deciduous trees, 313

deliciosus, Notropis, 323
Detergents, household, 353

Dianthera americana, 313

Diatom, 354
difformis, Carpiodes, 321
Diplesion blcnnioides, 326
Docks, 313

dolomieui, Micropterus, 326, 329, 330, 331, 332,

333, 336, 344, 346, 372
Dorosoma cepedianum, 321, 328, 330, 336, 345,

362
dorsalis, Notropis, 323, 327, 328, 331, 332, 335,

336, 337, 338, 343, 358, 366

Drainage districts, 310, 311

Drainage systems (drainages), 300, 308, 317,

320, 321, 331, 334, 337, 338, 339, 342; see

also names of streams
Draining (drainage), 306, 307, 308, 310, 311,

317, 333, 358; see also Dredging, Drainage
districts

Dredging, 306, 310, 311, 313, 314, 315, 317, 320,

333, 358; see also Draining (drainage)
Drum, freshwater, 327

duquesnei, Moxostoma, 311

Dusky darter, 327

East Branch (of the Salt Fork of the Vermilion
River), 311, 312, 314, 347, 349, 350, 351,

352, 353, 354, 355, 356, 359

Eastern sand darter, 326

Ecological associations, 33 5—9; see also Fish as-

sociations

Ecological characteristics (conditions, factors),

304, 311-3, 314, 336, 358

eel, American, 325

Electrofishing (electric seine, electric fish shock-

er, rowboat shocker), 300, 302, 303, 304,

305, 308, 321, 322, 340; see also Methods,
fish collecting (sampling)

Elodea canadensis, 313

Embarrass River, 300, 301, 305, 306, 308, 312,

320, 321-6, 334-5, 338, 339-40, 342, 343,



378 Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin Vol. 28, Art. 2

Embarrass River

—

continurd

344, 345, 349, 356, 358, 362-75

Emerald shiner, 323

cmiliar, Opsoporodus, 324, 328, 330, 332, 333

Equisetum arvcnsc, 313

Ericymha buccata, 322, 327. 328, 330, 335, 337,

338. 344, 345, 358, 365

Erimyzon
clm'tformis, 321

oblongus, 321, 327, 328, 335, 336, 338, 343.

345, 358, 363

siicetta, 321

erythrtirum, Moxostoma, 322, 328, 336, 343, 345,

364
Esox

americamis, 321, 327, 328, 332, 333, 336, 337,

345, 362

z'crmiculatus, 321

Etheostoma
asprigene, 326, 329, 331

blcnnioides, 326, 327, 329, 335, 336, 345, 373

caerulcum, 326, 329, 335, 345

camunim, 320
chlorosomum, 326, 329, 330, 332, 333

corrulcum, 326, 329

eulepis, 326

Habellare, 326, 329, 335, 345, 374

fiabellare X lineolatum, 326

gracile, 326, 327, 329, 330, 333

jessiae, 326

lineolatum, 12G

nigrum, 326, 328, 329, 336, 345, 374

speciabile, 326, 328, 329, 335, 345, 374

zonalc, 327, 329, 336, 345, 374

Euglena
sanguinea, 354
sp., 354

eulepis, Etheostoma, 326

Eupatorium perfoliatum, 313

Eupomotis heros, 325

exilis, Noturus, 324, 327, 329, 330, 333

exilis, Schilbeodes, 324

Fantail darter, 326

Fathead minnow, 324

Fertilizers, 307, 355; see also Water (stream)

enrichment, Water (stream) fertility, Soil

(soil types, soil materials)

Fish abundance (weights, numbers)
affected by pollution, 331

changes in, 299, 303, 339^1
number per 100 square yards, 339-42, 350,

351, 356, 358

in relation to stream size, 341-6, 35C-9
species decreasing in, 330, 333, 349

species increasing in, 329, 330, 331, 333

species per station, 339-41, 350, 351, 358

weight per 100 square yards, 339-41, 350,

351, 355, 356, 358

Fish adaptations (changes), 331-5, 345

Fish, annotated list of, 320-7

Fish associations

during low water, 339

with habitats, 335-7, 358

with other fishes, 335, 337-9, 358

Fish collecting methods; see Methods, fish col-

lecting (sampling)
Fish distribution (occurrence)

changes in, 299, 303, 328-35, 358

decreases in, 330, 332, 333, 335, 358

definition of, 331

distribution patterns, 327-8

increases in, 329-33, 335, 358

natural ranges of species, 327

in relation to discharge of stream, 310

in relation to pollution, 331, 346-55

in relation to restricted habitats, 335-7, 346

in relation to stream size, 340-6, 3 58-9

in relation to stream succession, 346

in relation to water enrichment, 352, 355-6

in relation to young, 346

species restricted to a single drainage, 334,

358
Fish kills (mortality), 352, 353-4, 355

Fish occurrence; see Fish distribution (occur-

rence)

Fish species

annotated list of, 320-7

composite, 299, 321, 329

extirpated, 333, 351

of hypothetical occurrence, 320

introduced, 324, 325, 327, 328, 329, 330, 357,

358

Fisheries (fishing, angling)

commercialized sport, 321, 324, 357

fee-fishing, 357, 359

sport, 328, 356-7, 359

fiabellare, Etheostoma, 326, 329, 335, 345,

374

fiabellare X lineolatum, Etheostoma, 326

Flathead catfish, 324

fiavus, Noturus, 324, 329, 332, 333, 336, 337,

344, 369

Freckled madtom, 324
Freshwater drum, 327

Fundulus notatus, 325, 328, 329, 33 5, 336, 345,

370
_

fusiformis, Boleichthys, 326

Gambusia affinis, 325, 327, 330

Gar, longnose, 321

Carman's sunfish, 325

gilberti, Notropis, 323

Gizzard shad, 321, 337, 357

Glaciation, 306

Golden redhorse, 322, 347, 350

Golden shiner, 323, 347, 354, 357

Goldeye, 321

Goldfish, 322, 357

gracile, Etheostoma, 326, 327, 329, 330, 333

Grass pickerel, 321, 347, 350

Grasses, 313, 315

Green sunfish, 325, 347, 354, 357

Greenside darter, 326

grunniens, Aplodinotus, 327, 329, 330, 336, 375

gulosus, Chaenobryttus, 325, 329, 332

gyrinus, Noturus, 324, 329, 336, 344, 345, 370

gyrinus, Schilbeodes, 324

H
Hadropterus

aspro, 327

phoxocephalus, 327

Hantzschia amphioxus, 354

Herbs, 315

heros, Eupomotis, 325

heterolepis, Notropis, 323, 327, 328, 329, 330,

332, 333



March, 1963 Larimore & Smith: Fishes of Champaign County 379

Hibiscus militaris, 313

Highfin carpsucker, 321

liinei, Carpiodes, 321

Hiodon
alosoides, 321, 329

tergisus, 321

Hog sucker, northern, 321

Hornyhead chub, 322, 347, 351, 354, 357

Human population, 306, 308, 317, 346, 357

humilis, Lepomis, 325, 329, 332, 336, 344, 371

Hybognathus niiclialis, 322, 328, 330, 336, 343,

346, 365

Hybopsis
aestivalis, 320, 322, 328, 329, 330, 332, 333

amblops, 322, 327, 328, 330, 332, 333

biguttata, 322, 328, 332, 333, 335, 338, 339,

344, 345, 365

liyostoma, 322

hyostomus, 322, 328

kentnckiensis, 322

storcriana, 322, 328, 329

liyostoma, Hybopsis, 322

hyostomus, Hybopsis, 322, 328

Hypentelium nigricans, 321, 328, 331, 332, 333,

336, 338, 343, 345, 363

liypsisomatus, Notropis, 323

I

Ictalurus

mclas, 324, 327, 328, 332, 335, 336, 369

natalis, 324, 327, 328, 33 5, 336, 344, 345, 346,

369

nebulosus, 324, 327, 330

punctatus, 324, 328, 344, 369

Ictiobus

bubalus, 322, 328, 329, 330, 332, 333

cyprinellus, 322, 329, 330, 333

niger, 322, 329, 330, 333

urus, 322
illecebrosiis, Notropis, 323

Industrial development, 346, 358

Industrial wastes, 306

jessiae, Etheostoma, 326

Johnny darter, 326, 347, 348, 352, 354

K
Kaskaskia River, 300, 301, 305, 306, 308-10,

312, 315, 319, 320, 321-7, 330, 333, 334-5,

337, 338, 339, 340, 342, 343, 344, 349, 353,

354, 358, 359, 362-75
kentnckiensis, Hybopsis, 322

Labidesthes sicculus, 325, 329, 332, 345, 370

Largemouth bass, 326

Lepisosteus osseus, 321, 330
Lepomis

cyanellus, 325, 328, 329, 335, 336, 344, 345,

371

humilis, 325, 329, 332, 336, 344, 371

macrochirus, 325, 328, 329, 336, 344, 346, 372

megalotis, 325, 328, 329, 336, 344, 345, 372
microlophus, 325, 327, 330
miniatus, 325
pallidus, 325
punctatus, 325, 327, 329, 330, 333

Leptops oliiaris, 324
lineolatum, Etheostoma, 326

Little Vermilion River, 300, 301, 305, 306, 308,

311, 321-7, 334-5, 339, 356, 362-75
Logperch, 327
Longear sunfish, 325, 347
Longnose gar, 321

liitrensis, Notropis, 323, 327, 330, 331, 332, 333,

336, 343, 366

Lycopus americanus, 313

Lysimachia nummularia, 313

M
macrochirus, Lepomis, 325, 328, 329, 336, 344,

346, 372
macrolepidotum, Moxostoma, 322, 328, 330, 332,

336, 343, 364
maculata, Percina, 327, 329, 336, 345, 375
Madtom

brindled, 324
freckled, 324
slender, 324
tadpole, 324, 350

megalops, Opsopaeodus, 328

megalotis, Lepomis, 325, 328, 329, 336, 344, 345,

372
melanops, Minytrema, 322, 328, 330, 332, 333,

363

melas, Ameiurus, 324
melas, Ictalurus, 324, 327, 328, 332, 335, 336,

369
Methods, fish collecting (sampling), 299, 300-6

;

see also Electrofishing

microlophus, Lepomis, 325, 327, 330

Micropterus
dolomieui, 326, 329, 330, 331, 332, 333, 336,

344, 346, 372

punctidatus, 326, 327, 329, 336, 344, 346, 372

salmoides, 326, 328, 329, 336, 344, 373

Middle Fork (of the Vermilion River), 300,

301, 305, 306, 308, 312, 313, 317, 320, 321-7,

334-5, 337, 338, 339-40, 342, 343, 349, 357,

358, 362-75

Milkweeds, 313

Mimic shiner, 324
miniatus, Lepomis, 325

Minnow
bluntnose, 324, 347, 352, 353, 354, 357

bullhead, 324
fathead, 324
pugnose, 324
silverjaw, 322, 347, 352, 354
silvery, 322
suckermouth, 324, 3 50

Minytrema melanops, 322, 328, 330, 332, 333,

363

mirabilis, Phenacobius, 324, 328, 335, 336, 338,

344, 353, 368

mississippiensis, Roccus, 325, 327, 330

miurus, Noturus, 324, 327, 329, 336, 344, 370

miurus, Schilbeodes, 324
Mosquitofish, western, 325

Moxostoma
anisurum, 322, 329, 332, 336, 343

aureolum, 322

breviceps, 322
carinatum, 320

duquesnei, 322

erythrurum, 322, 328, 336, 343, 345, 364

macrolepidotum, 322, 328, 330, 332, 336, 343,

364
Mud darter, 326



.^80 Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin Vol. 28, Art. 2

N
not alls, .-Jm fturns, 324
Tidtalis, Ictalurus. 324, 327, 328, 335, 336, 344,

345, 346, 369

nrhiilosus, Ictalurus, 324, 327, 330

nigrr, Ictiohus, 322, 329, 330, 333

nu/ruans, Catostomus, 321

n'it/ricans, Hypcnidinm, 321, 328, 331, 332, 333,

336, 338, 343, 345, 363

niyromaculatus, Pomoxis, 326, 329, 332

nigrum, Boleosoma, 326

nigrum. Etheosioma, 326, 328, 329, 336, 345,

374
noiturnus, Noturus, 324, 327, 330

Northern hog sucker, 321

Northern redhorse, 322

notatus, Fundulus, 325, 328, 329, 335, 336, 345,

370

notatus, Pimephales, 324, 327, 328, 33 5, 336,

343, 368

Notemigonus crysoleucas, 323, 327, 328, 336,

338, 344, 365

Notropis
amnis, 323, 329, 330, 333, 354

athcrinoides, 323, 328, 329, 331, 332

atripes, 323

atrocaudalis, 323

blennius, 323, 324, 329

boops, 323, 328, 330, 332, 333

cayuga, 323

chrysocephalus, 323, 328, 332, 333, 335, 338,

339, 343, 345, 358, 366

cornutus, 323

cyanocephalus, 323

deliciosus, 323

dorsalis, 323, 327, 328, 331, 332, 335, 336, 337,

338, 343, 358, 366
gilberti, 323

heterolepis, 323, 327, 328, 329, 330, 332, 333

hypsisomatiis, 323

illecebrosus, 323

lutrensis, 323, 327, 330, 331, 332, 333, 336,

343, 366

rubellus, 323, 327, 329, 331, 332, 336, 343, 366

spilopterus, 323, 327, 329, 335, 343, 345, 367

spilopterus X hypsisomatus, 323

stramineiis, 323, 327, 329, 335, 343, 345, 367

umbratilis, 323, 327, 328, 331, 332, 336, 338,

343, 345, 367

volucellus, 324, 329

ivhipplei, 324, 329, 336, 343, 367

iv/iipplii, 323, 324, 329

Noturus
exilis, 324, 327, 329, 330, 333

flavus, 324, 329, 332, 333, 336, 337, 344,

369
gyrinus, 324, 329, 336, 344, 345, 370

miurus, 324, 327, 329, 336, 344, 370

nocturnus, 324, 327, 330

nuchalis, Hybognathus, 322, 328, 330, 336, 343,

346, 365

Nuphar advena, 313

O
oblongus, Erimyzon, 321, 327, 328, 335, 336,

338, 343, 345, 358, 363

olivaris, Leptops, 324
olivaris, Pylodictis, 324, 329, 331, 332, 336, 344

Opsopaeodus megalops, 328

Opsopoeodus cmiliae, 324, 328, 330, 332, 333

Orangespotteil suntish, 325, 357

Orangethroat darter, 326

osscus, Lepisostrus, 321, 330
Oxbow(s), 311, 317

Pallid shiner, 323

pallidus, Lepomis, 325

pellucida, Ammocrypta, 326, 329, 336, 337, 373

Percina
caprodes, 327, 328, 329, 336, 345, 375

caprodes X semifasciata, 327

maculata, 327, 329, 336, 345, 375

phoxoccphala, 327, 329, 336, 345, 375

sclera. 327, 330

semifasciata, 327

pcrspicuus, Pimephales, 324
Phenacobius mirabilis, 324, 328, 335, 336, 338,

344, 358, 368

Phinney Branch, 349, 352, 356, 359

phoxocephala, Percina, 327, 329, 336, 345, 375

phoxocephalus, Hadropterus, 327

Phyla lanceolata, 313

Pickerel, grass, 321, 347, 350

Pimephales
notatus, 324, 327, 328, 335, 336, 343, 368

perspicuus, 324
promclas, 324, 328, 336, 343, 363

vigilax, 324, 328, 330, 332, 333

Pirateperch, 325

Plankton (blooms), 354
Polluted waters, chemistry of, 353 ; see also

Water chemistry. Pollution (pollutants)

Pollution (pollutants) ; see also Water chem-
istry. Water (stream) enrichment, Sewage,
Fish distribution (occurrence). Fish abun-

dance (weights, numbers)
areas of chronic, 348, 353, 359

chemical, 346, 348

definition of, 346

domestic, 312, 346, 348, 352

fish tolerant of, 331, 351, 354-5

industrial, 312, 347, 348, 350, 352

organic, 346

types of, 346-8, 359

Pomoxis
annularis, 326, 329, 336, 344, 373

nigromaculatus, 326, 329, 332

sparoides, 326

Pond(s), 317, 328, 356, 357, 359
Potamogcton

folios us, 313

spp., 313

Precipitation, 307, 310, 317

promelas, Pimephales, 324, 328, 336, 343, 368

Pugnose minnow, 324
pullum, Campostoma, 322
punctatus, Ictalurus, 324, 328, 344, 369

punctatus, Lepomis, 325, 327, 329, 330, 333

punctulatus, Microptcrus, 326, 327, 329, 336,

344, 346, 372
Pylodictis olivaris, 324, 329, 331, 332, 336, 344

Q
Quillback, 347, 352, 357

Quillback carpsucker, 321

Ragweeds, 313

Rainbow darter, 326



March, 1963 Larimore & Smith: Fishes of Champaign County 381

Red shiner, 323

Redear sunfish, 325, 357

Redfin shiner, 323, 347, 351, 352, 354
Redhorse, golden, 322, 347, 350

Redhorse, northern, 322

Redhorse, silver, 322
Rocctis mississippiensis, 325, 327, 330

Rock bass, 325

Rorippa islandica, 313

Rose mallow, 313

rostrata, Angiiilla, 325, 329

Rosyface shiner, 323

rubellvs, Notropis, 323, 327, 329, 331, 332, 336,

343, 366

Ritmex altissimiis, 313

rupestris, Ambloplites, 325, 329, 332, 333, 336,

344, 346, 371

Salix interior, 313

salmoides, Micropteriis, 326, 328, 329, 336, 344,

373

Salt Fork (of the Vermilion River), 300, 301,

305, 306, 308-10, 311, 312, 313, 317, 320,

321-7, 334-5, 338, 339, 342, 343, 344, 345,

348, 349, 350, 351-2, 353, 354, 356, 357, 358,

359, 362-75

Sand darter, eastern, 326

Sand shiner, 323, 347, 352, 354
Sangamon River, frontis., 300, 301, 302, 303,

305, 306, 308-10, 312, 316, 317, 318, 320,

321-7, 334, 335, 337, 338, 339, 342, 343,

344, 345, 349, 352, 353, 356, 357, 358, 359,

362-75

sayanus, A pliredodertis, Z2S, 329, 336, 337, 345,

371

ScliUbeodes

exilis, 324
gyrinus, 324
miuriis, 324

scicra, Percina, 327, 330
Sedges, 313

scmifasciata, Prrcina, 327
Semotilus atromacidatus, 324, 327, 328, 330, 331,

332, 335, 344, 345, 368

Sewage, 306, 348, 352-3, 355-6; see also Pollu-

tion (pollutants)

Shad, gizzard, 321, 337, 357
Shiner

bigeye, 323
bigmouth, 323

blacknose, 323

common, 323, 347, 350, 353, 354
emerald, 323
golden, 323, 347, 354, 357
mimic, 324
pallid, 323

red, 323

redfin, 323, 347, 351, 352, 354
rosvface, 323
sand, 323, 347, 352, 354
spotfin, 323, 347, 352, 354
steelcolor, 324

Shrubs, 315
sicculus, Labidesthes, 325, 329, 332, 345, 370
Silver chub, 322
Silver maple, 313
Silver redhorse, 322
Silverjaw minnow, 322, 347, 352, 354
Siiverside, brook, 325, 350

Silvery minnow, 322
Slender madtom, 324
Slenderhead darter, 327
Slough darter, 326
Smallmouth bass, 326
Smalimouth buffalo, 322
Soil erosion, 308

Soil (soil types, soil materials), 306, 313, 355,
359

sparoides, Pomoxis, 326
Spartina pcciinata, 313

Speckled chub. 322
spectabile, Ethcostoma, 326, 328, 329, 335, 345,

374
spilopterus, Notropis, 323, 327, 329, 335, 343,

345, 367
spilopterus X hypsisomatus, Notropis, 323
Spoon River, 312, 313, 355
Spotfin shiner, 323, 347, 352, 354
Spotted bass, 326
Spotted sucker, 322, 3 50

Spotted sunfish, 325
Steelcolor shiner, 324
Stizostedion canadense, 320
Stonecat, 324
StoneroUer, 322, 347, 352, 354
storeriana, Hybopsis, 322, 328, 329
stramineus, Notropis, 323, 327, 329, 335, 343,

345, 367

Stream discharge; see Water (stream) dis-

charge
Stream drainages; see names of streams,

Drainage systems
Stream gradient, 311, 313, 314, 315, 317
Stream (habitat) succession, 344-6
Stream habitats

changes in, 317, 320, 333, 335, 358
classification and types of, 313-7, 358
ecological characteristics, 311-20
fish characteristic of various, 314, 335-7, 358
measurements of, 304, 336

Stream size

expressed by size of drainage area, 345, 346
in relation to fish distribution, 340-6
in relation to fish size, 342, 358-9
in relation to fish weight (fish flesh), 342,

3 58-9

in relation to number of fish, 342, 358-9
in relation to number of fish species, 341-2,

358-9
Stream water, chemistry of; see Water chem-

istry

sucetta, Erimyzon, 321

Sucker
northern hog, 321

spotted, 322, 350

white, 321, 347, 352, 354
Suckermouth minnow, 324, 350

Sunfish

Carman's, 325

green, 325, 347, 354, 357

longear, 325, 347

orangespotted, 325, 357
redear, 325, 357

spotted, 325

Svcamore, 313

Tadpole madtom, 324, 3 50

tergisus, Hiodon, 321



382 Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin Vol. 28, Art. 2

Topminnow, blackstripe, 325, 352, 354

Turbidity. 304. 312, 313, 317, 336

U
umbratilis, Notropis, 323, 327, 328, 331, 332,

336, 338, 343, 345, 367

Urbanization, 308, 357; sre also Human popu-

lation

urus, Ictiobus, 322

Vegetation; see also specific names
aquatic (stream), 304, 313, 315, 317, 320, 336,

358

bank, 304, 312, 313, 336

overhanging, 304, 313, 317, 320, 358

vclifer, Carpiodes, 321, 328, 330, 336, 343, 362

vermiculatus, Esox, 321

vigilax, Cliola, 324

vigilax, Pimephales, 324, 328, 330, 332, 333

volucellus, Notropis, 324, 329

W
Warmouth, 325, 357

Water chemistry, 312, 353, 355; see also Pollu-

tion (pollutants) and Polluted waters,

chemistry of

Water levels, 304, 307, 308, 311, 317, 328, 354

Water (stream) discharge, 308-10; see also

Water (stream) flow (volume)

Water (stream) enrichment, 355-6, 359; see

also Pollution (pollutants), Water chem-
istry. Sewage

Water (stream) fertility, 355, 359; see also

Water (stream) enrichment, Soil (soil

types, soil materials)

Water (stream) flow (volume), 315, 317, 348,

358; see also Water (stream) discharge

Water temperature, 312, 317, 346, 353, 354

Water turbidity; see Turbidity

Water velocity (current), 304, 312, 314, 317,

320, 336, 337

Water willow, 313

Weather, 307

West Branch (of the Salt Fork of the Ver-

milion River), 309, 310, 312-3, 345-51, 353,

354, 359
Western mosquitofish, 325

luhipplei, Notropis, 324, 329, 336, 343, 367

iv/iipplii, Notropis, 323, 324, 329

White crappie, 326, 357

White sucker, 321, 347, 352, 354

Willows, 313

Yellow bass, 325, 357

Yellow bullhead, 324, 347, 357

zonale, Etheostoma, 327, 329, 336, 345, 374





Some Publications of the Illinois Natural History Survey

BULLETIN
Volume 27, Article 2.—A Century of Biological

Research. By Harlow B. Mills, George C.

Decker, Herbert H. Ross, J. Cedric Carter,

George W. Bennett, Thomas G. Scott, James

S. Ayars, Ruth R. Warrick, and Bessie B.

East December, 19S8. ISO pp., 2 frontis.,

illus., bibliog. $1.00.

Volume 27, Article 3.—Lead Poisoning as a

Mortality Factor in Waterfowl Populations.

By Frank C. Bellrose. May, 1959. 54 pp.,

frontis., 9 figs., bibliog. 50 cents.

Volume 27, Article 4.—Food Habits of Migra-

tory Ducks in Illinois. By Harry G. Ander-

son. August, 1959. 56 pp., frontis., 18 figs.,

bibliog. 50 cents.

Volume 27, Article 5.—Hook-and-Line Catch

in Fertilized and Unfertilized Ponds. By

Donald F. Hansen, George W. Bennett,

Robert J. Webb, and John M. Lewis. August,

1960. 46 pp., frontis., 11 figs., bibliog. Single

copies free to Illinois residents; 25 cents to

others.

Volume 27, Article 6.—Sex Ratios and Age

Ratios in North American Ducks. By Frank

C. Bellrose, Thomas G. Scott, Arthur S.

Hawkins, and Jessop B, Low. August, 1961.

84 pp., 2 frontis., 23 figs., bibliog. $1.00.

(Make check payable to University of Illi-

nois; mail check and order to Room 279, Nat-

ural Resources Building, Urbana, Illinois.)

Volume 28, Article 1.—The Amphibians and

Reptiles of Illinois. By Philip W. Smith.

November, 1961. 298 pp., frontis., 252 figs.,

bibliog., index. $3.00.

CIRCULAR
39.—How to Collect and Preserve Insects. By

H. H. Ross. July, 1962. (Sixth printing, with

alterations.) 71 pp., frontis., 79 figs. Single

copies free to Illinois residents; 25 cents to

others.

47.—Illinois Trees and Shrubs: Their Insect

Enemies. By L. L. English. March, 1962.

(Second printing, with revisions.) 92 pp.,

frontis., 59 figs., index. Single copies free to

Illinois residents ; 25 cents to others.

48.—Diseases of Wheat, Oats, Barley, and Rye.

By G. H. Boewe. June, 1960. 159 pp., frontis.,

56 figs. Single copies free to Illinois resi-

dents; 25 cents to others.

BIOLOGICAL NOTES
37.—Continuous Mass Rearing of the Eurc
pean Corn Borer in the Laboratory. B]
Paul Surany. May, 1957. 12 pp., 7 figs.

38.—Ectoparasites of the Cottontail Rabbit ii

Lee County, Northern Illinois. By Lewis Jj
Stannard, Jr., and Lysle R. Pietsch. Juuf
1958. 20 pp., 14 figs., bibliog.

39.—A Guide to Aging of Pheasant Embryoi
By Ronald F. Labisky and James F. Optah|
September, 1958. 4 pp., illus., bibliog.

40.—Night-Lighting: A Technique for Caj
turing Birds and Mammals. By Ronald

Labisky. July, 1959. 12 pp., 8 figs., bibliof

41.—Hawks and Owls: Population Trend

From Illinois Christmas Counts. By Richai

R. Graber and Jack S. Golden. March, 196(1

24 pp., 24 figs., bibliog.

42.—Winter Foods of the Bobwhite in Souther

Illinois. By Edward J. Larimer. May, 196C

36 pp., 11 figs., bibliog.

43.—Hot-Water and Chemical Treatment

Illinois-Grown Gladiolus Cormels. By J.

Forsberg. March, 1961. 12 pp., 8 figi., bit

Hog.

44.—The Filmy Fern in Illinois. By Robert

Evers. April, 1961. IS pp., 13 figs., bibliog.]

45.—Techniques for Determining Age of Rae

coons. By Glen C. Sanderson. August, 1961.

16 pp., 8 figs., bibliog.

46.—Hybridization Between Three Species of

Sunfish {Lefomis). By William F. Childers

and George W. Bennett. November, 1961.

15 pp., 6 figs., bibliog.

47.—Distribution and Abundance of Pheasants

in Illinois. By Frederick Greeley, Ronald F.

Labisky, and Stuart H. Mann. March, 1962.

16 pp., 16 figs., bibliog.

48.—Systematic Insecticide Control of Some

Pests of Trees and Shrubs—A Preliminary

Report. By L. L. English and Walter Hart-

stirn. August, 1962. 12 pp., 9 figs., bibliog.

49.—Characters of Age, Sex, and Sexual Ma-
turity in Canada Geese. By Harold C. Han-

son. November, 1962. 15 pp., 13 figs., bibliog.

MANUAL
4.—Fieldbook of Illinois Mammals. By Donald

F. Hoffmeister and Carl O. Mohr. June,

1957. 233 pp., color frontis., 119 figs., glos-

sary, bibliog., index. $1.75.

List of available publications mailed on request.

Single copies of Illinois Natural Hbtort Survey publications for which no price is listed

will be furnished free of charge to individuals until the supply becomes low, after which i

nominal charge may be made. More than one copy of any free publication may be obtained

without cost by educational institutions and official organizations within the State of Illinois;

prices to others on quantity orders of these publications will be quoted upon request.

Address orders and correspondence to the Chief, Illinois Natural

History Survey, Natural Resources Building, Urbana, Illinois

Payment in the form of money order or check made out to State Treasurer of Illinois,

Springfield, lilinoii, must accompany requesta for those publicationa on which a price it Kt